U.S. Leading Economic Index Points to Further Economic Recovery in December
21 Janeiro 2022 - 12:50PM
Dow Jones News
By Maria Martinez
An economic index that measures U.S. business cycles rose in
December, suggesting the economy continued to grow, according to
data from The Conference Board released Friday.
The Leading Economic index increased 0.8% to 120.8 in December
compared with the previous month, in line with the forecast from
economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.
The index rose by 0.7% in November, so December's data signals
that economic growth gathered momentum despite growing Covid-19
cases.
The rising trajectory of the index suggests that the economy
will continue to expand well into the spring, said Ataman
Ozyildirim, senior director of economic research at The Conference
Board.
The Conference Board Leading Economic Index is based on 10
components, among them initial claims for unemployment insurance,
manufacturers' new orders, building permits of new private housing
units, stock prices and consumers expectations. It is intended to
signal swings in the business cycle and to smooth out some of the
volatility of individual indicators.
The Coincident Economic Index, a measure of current economic
activity, increased 0.2% in December to 107.4.
"For the first quarter, headwinds from the Omicron variant,
labor shortages and inflationary pressures, as well as the Federal
Reserve's expected interest rate hikes, may moderate economic
growth," Mr. Ozyildirim said.
The Lagging Economic Index rose 0.1% to 109.4, the report
said.
The Conference Board forecasts GDP growth for the first quarter
2022 to slow to 2.2%.
Still, for 2022, the Conference Board forecasts the U.S. economy
will expand by a robust 3.5%, well above the pre-pandemic trend
growth.
Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 21, 2022 10:35 ET (15:35 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2022 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.