Suggesting a positive short-term outlook, the Conference Board released a report Thursday showing a modest increase by its index of leading US economic indicators in the month of January.
The Conference Board said the leading economic index edged up by 0.2 per cent in January following a downwardly revised 0.4 per cent increase in December.
The modest uptick by the leading economic index reflected increases by five of the ten indicators that make up the index.
The interest rate spread, average consumer expectations for business conditions, and the Leading Credit Index made the biggest positive contributions.
The report also showed that the coincident economic index rose by 0.2 per cent in January, matching the increase seen in the previous month.
Increases by employees on non-farm payrolls and personal income less transfer payments contributed to the uptick by the index.
Additionally, the Conference Board said the lagging economic index rose by 0.3 per cent for the third consecutive month.
That increase partly reflected positive contributions from the average duration of unemployment and commercial and industrial loans outstanding.