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Business Title: U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Show Modest Increase In June (RTTNews) - Leading economic indicators in the U.S. saw a modest increase in the month of June, according to a report released by the Conference Board on Thursday, with the leading indicators index rising in line with economist estimates. The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.3 percent in June following a 0.8 percent increase in May. The index rose for the second consecutive month after slipping by 0.3 percent in April. Ataman Ozyildirim, an economist at the Conference Board said, "The U.S. LEI continued to increase in June, but the strengths among the leading indicators have been balanced with the weaknesses in recent months." The increase by the leading index reflected positive contributions from real money supply, the interest rate spread, building permits, vendor performance, and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials. Meanwhile, negative contributions from stock prices, consumer expectations, average weekly manufacturing hours, and manufacturers' new orders for non-defense capital goods helped to limit the upside for the index. The report also showed that the coincident economic index, a measure of current economic activity, edged up by 0.1 percent in June, matching the increase seen in the previous month. All four indicators that make up the coincident index increased in June, with personal income less transfer payments making the largest positive contribution. The lagging economic index rose by 0.3 percent in June following a 0.2 percent increase in May, reflecting positive contributions from commercial and industrial loans outstanding, the ratio of manufacturing and trade inventories to sales, and the change in unit labor costs. Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board, said, "The economy faced some recent unexpected headwinds, including a shortage of auto and electronic parts from Japan after the earthquake, and damaging tornado and flooding activity in the U.S." "Another potential headwind is the debt ceiling issue, which could result in a financial crisis in the near term if not resolved," he added. "If these headwinds subside, the underlying trend of slow growth, as suggested by the LEI, should become more apparent over the next few months." by RTT Staff Writer
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