Basket of forward-looking economic data posts as-expected gain in January, research group says.
February 19, 2004: 10:35 AM EST
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A basket of leading U.S. economic indicators rose in January, a research group said Thursday, hinting at a continuing recovery for the world's largest economy.
The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.5 percent to 115 after rising 0.2 percent in December. January's gain matched economists' consensus forecast, according to Briefing.com.
"The continued growth in the leading index is signaling that strong economic growth should persist in the near term," the Conference Board said.
The report had little impact on U.S. stock prices, which continued to rise in early trading. Treasury bond prices fell.
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Five of the ten indicators that make up the leading index contributed to its gain in January, including gains in consumer expectations, stock prices and average weekly manufacturing hours, along with a slowdown in vendor delivery time (indicating increased activity) and a decline in weekly claims for unemployment insurance.
The indicators showing weakness were falling building permits, the spread between long- and short-term interest rates, money supply and manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods. The other indicator, manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials, was flat.
The Conference Board'd index of coincident indicators rose 0.3 percent after being flat in December. Contributing to the gain were industrial production, personal income, employees on non-farm payrolls, and manufacturing and trade sales.
The index of lagging indicators was flat in January after falling 0.4 percent in December.
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