U.S. Leading Economic Index Rises For Third Straight Month In April

(RTTNews) - Reflecting improving housing and financial market conditions, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing that its index of leading U.S. economic indicators increased for the third consecutive month in April.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.4 percent in April following an upwardly revised 1.0 percent jump in March and a 0.5 percent increase in February. The continued increase by index matched economist estimates.

"Despite a brutal winter which brought the economy to a halt, the overall trend in the leading economic index has remained positive," said Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board.

He added, "If consumers continue to spend and businesses pick up the pace of investment, the industrial core of the economy will benefit and GDP growth could move closer towards the 3 percent range."

The continued increase by the leading economic index reflected positive contributions from five of the ten indicators that make up the index.

The Conference Board said large positive contributions from the yield spread and building permits helped to drive the index higher.

The report also showed that the coincident economic index edged up by 0.1 percent in April following a 0.3 percent increase in March.

Positive contributions from employees on non-farm payrolls, personal income less transfer payments and manufacturing and trade sales contributed to the modest increase by the coincident economic.

Additionally, the Conference Board said the lagging economic index rose by 0.2 percent in April after climbing by 0.7 percent in March.

The increase reflected positive contributions from commercial and industrial loans outstanding, the average duration of unemployment and the ratio of consumer installment credit to personal income.