Leading U.S. Indicators Index Signals U.S. Growth to Pick Up Into 2014
By Jeanna Smialek - Aug 22, 2013
The index of U.S. leading indicators climbed in July by the most in three months, signaling improvements in housing and labor markets will help foster faster economic growth through year-end.
The Conference Board’s gauge of the outlook for the next three to six months increased 0.6 percent after no change in June, the New York-based group said today. Another report showed the fewest Americans since November 2007 filed applications for unemployment benefits in the past month.
The increase in the leading index was propelled by the drop in firings, rising stock prices and a thawing in lending that all point to a pickup in consumer spending. More sales of appliances and home-improvement merchandise at retailers such as Home Depot Inc. and Lowe’s Cos. show the recovery in housing is filtering through to other parts of the economy.
“One of the big underpinnings is obviously the housing market,” said Tim Quinlan, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities LLC in Charlotte, North Carolina. Economists at Wells Fargo are the best forecasters of the LEI in the last two years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The leading indicators are “consistent with the outlook for gradual improvement in the U.S. economy.”
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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-22/leading-economic-indicators-index-in-u-s-climbed-0-6-in-july.html