A composite factor of leading economic indicators posted gains that exceeded demands in February.
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index rose 0.6 percent to 108.7, dent the fourth straight month of gains for the composite index and exceeding economists’ expectations of a 0.4 percent elevation.
The measure, which measures 10 key metrics of economic movement, moved 0.8 percent to 108.1 in January, which followed a gain of 0.7 percent in December.
“The U.S. LEI slant again, despite a sharp downturn in stock markets and weakness in protection construction in February,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, the Conference Board’s maestro of business cycles and growth research.
While Ozyildirim said the persuasive recent showings indicate “robust economic growth throughout 2018,” he counseled that the U.S. Federal Reserve’s plans to raise interest rates could upset aspects of the metric.
“While the Federal Reserve is on track to continue moot its benchmark rate for the rest of the year, the recent weakness in residential construction and banal prices — important leading indicators — should be monitored closely,” Ozyildirim estimated.
The index is used to forecast global economic trends and take a thudding on the U.S. economy. The Conference Board, a business research association, determines a composite value based on 10 key metrics, subsuming manufacturers’ new orders, stock prices and average weekly unemployment be entitled ti, to create the composite value.