The composite of the Leading Economic Index was up 0.1% in October following an upwardly revised 0.6% gain in September, first reported as a 0.5% increase, the Conference Board said Wednesday.
The coincident index rose 0.2% in October after a 0.1% rise in September, while the lagging index grew 0.4% in October, after a 0.2% decrease in September.
The LEI stands at 112.1, the coincident index is at 104.7 and the lagging index is at 105.5. The LEI has a baseline of 100, which reflects the level in 2016.
Economists polled by IFR Markets predicted LEI would be up 0.1% in the month.
“The US LEI increased slightly in October, and the pace of improvement slowed for the first time since May,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at The Conference Board. “The index still points to robust economic growth in early 2019, but the rapid pace of growth may already have peaked. While near term economic growth should remain strong, longer term growth is likely to moderate to about 2.5 percent by mid to late 2019.”
