WASHINGTON (AFX) – A gauge of future U.S. economic activity declined in September for the third month in a row, indicating slower growth for the rest of the year, the Conference Board said Thursday.
The index of leading economic indicators fell 0.7% in September, as the impact of the hurricanes in the Gulf began to be felt in the economic data.
Economists were expecting the index to fall 0.5%, according to a survey conducted by MarketWatch.
The index fell 0.1% in both July and August,” suggesting that the economy was losing steam this summer and would continue to slow down in the fall,” said Ken Goldstein, chief economist for the private research group.
Then the hurricanes hit, sending energy prices higher, depressing consumers and cutting hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Five of the 10 indicators decreased in September, led by jobless claims and consumer expectations. Four indicators increased in September, led by delivery times and building permits. Energy prices are not directly measured in the leading indicators.
The leading index has been slowing for more than a year and began to decline in July. The behavior of the leading index is “consistent with the economy continuing to expand more moderately in the near term,” the Conference Board said.
In the past six months, the leading index is up 0.4%, with seven of the 10 indicators advancing over that time.
In September, the coincident index fell 0.1% in September, the second decline in a row. The lagging index rose 0.2% in September after no change in August.
This story was supplied by MarketWatch. For further information see www.marketwatch.com.