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U.S. Leading Economic Index Slumps Much More Than Expected In March
(RTTNews) - Suggesting worsening economic conditions ahead, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a steep drop by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of March.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index tumbled by 1.2 percent in March after falling by a revised 0.5 percent in February.
Economists had expected the leading economic index to decrease by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.3 percent dip originally reported for the previous month.
With the much bigger than expected slump, the leading economic index fell to its lowest level since November 2020.
"The weaknesses among the index's components were widespread in March and have been so over the past six months, which pushed the growth rate of the LEI deeper into negative territory," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, Senior Manager, Business Cycle Indicators, at The Conference Board.
She added, "The Conference Board forecasts that economic weakness will intensify and spread more widely throughout the US economy over the coming months, leading to a recession starting in mid-2023."
Meanwhile, the report showed the coincident economic index edged up by 0.2 percent in March, matching the uptick in February.
The lagging economic index dipped by 0.2 percent in March following a 0.2 percent increase in the previous month.
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