The index of US economic indicators decreased in December for the first time in three months, weighed by slowing factory orders and fewer building permits.
The Conference Board’s measure of the economic outlook for the next three to six months fell 0.2 per cent in December after rising 0.5 per cent the month before, the New York-based research group said Friday.
Five the 10 Leading Economic Indicators of the Conference Board’s composite gauge decreased. Those also included an increase in jobless claims, the drop in stock prices and waning consumer confidence about the economic outlook.
The November reading was revised up from a prior estimate that showed a 0.4 percent increase.
The Conference Board’s coincident economic index, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.1 per cent in December for a second month. The gauge is determined by growth in industrial production, sales, payrolls and incomes — the measures used by the National Bureau of Economic Research to determine the beginning and end of US recessions.
The index is showing resilience compared to the volatility that’s rocked financial markets since the start of the year, indicating that troubles in equities may have a more tenuous link to actual developments in the economy.
The gauge of lagging indicators rose 0.2 per cent in December after a 0.3 per cent gain the month before.