Economic indicators good on Conference Board
August 18, 2005
The Conference Board released its monthly index of leading economic indicators on Thursday, showing the index up to 138.3 in July. That was the highest level since the index was introduced in 1959.
While there were declines in some components of the index, six of the ten areas examined by the index were up on the month.
Manufacturers new orders of non-defense capital goods were up 0.01 percent, and jobless claims, building permits , stock prices, consumer expectations, and the interest-rate spread between 10-year Treasury bonds and the federal funds rate were on the positive side in July.
However, manufacturers’ new orders for consumer goods and materials fell by 0.01 percent, vendor performance was down 0.09 percent, and the real money supply was also down by 0.09 percent.
According to the Board, the index of leading economic indicators has gone up at an annual rate of 2.2 percent for the past six months, while they were rising at an annual rate of 10 percent at the end of 2003.