US leading indicators rise in May for 2nd month in a row

18 June 2009 17:49  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--The index of US leading economic indicators rose by 1.2% in May, the Conference Board said on Thursday, noting that it was the second consecutive month of improvement and suggesting that “the recession is losing steam”.

The New York City-based Conference Board, a 92-year-old business analysis group, said that May’s 1.2% gain, which followed a 1.1% increase in April, indicates that “confidence is rebuilding and financial market volatility is abating”.

The April gain in the leading economic indicators was the first in seven months.

Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein noted that “even the housing market appears to be stabilising”.

“If these trends continue, expect a slow recovery beginning before the end of the year,” Goldstein said, adding: “The recession is losing steam.”

The board’s closely watched index of leading economic indicators (LEI) is made up of data on ten subsets of business activity, including stock prices, interest rates, consumer expectations and unemployment claims, among others.

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