While the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a continued increase in its leading economic indicators index in the month of October, the increase by the index was slightly smaller than economists had been anticipating.
The report showed that the leading indicators index rose 0.3 percent in October following a 1.0 percent gain in September and a 0.4 percent increase in August. While the index rose for the seventh consecutive month, economists had been expecting a 0.4 percent increase.
Ken Goldstein, Economist at the Conference Board, said, "The data indicate that economic recovery is finally setting in. We can expect slow growth through the first half of 2010."
"The pace of growth, however, will depend critically on how much demand picks up, and how soon," he added.
The continued increase by the leading indicators index reflected positive contributions from six of the ten indicators that make up the index.
The interest rate spread, initial unemployment claims and stock prices were among the biggest positive contributors, more than offsetting negative contributions from consumer expectations, residential building permits and the index of supplier deliveries.
At the same time, the report showed that the coincident economic index was unchanged in October following a 0.1 percent decrease in September.
A continued drop in non-farm payroll employment offset positive contributions from personal income, industrial production and manufacturing and trade sales.
The Conference Board also said that the lagging economic index fell 0.2 percent in October after falling by 0.5 percent in September. The continue decrease by the index came as only two of the seven index components contributed positively for the month.
With the coincident index unchanged and the lagging index falling, the coincident-to-lagging ratio edged up 91.6 in October from 91.5 in September.
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June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.