The U.S. economy’s growth was flat in November, and is expected to remain steady as the new year approaches. The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. for November is unchanged from the October level, at 111.6, following 0.2-percent declines in both October and September.
The unchanged figure, according to The Conference Board, is due to strong residential construction, financial markets and consumers’ outlook, which counterbalanced drawbacks in the manufacturing and labor markets. “While the six-month growth rate of the LEI remains slightly negative, the Index suggests that economic growth is likely to stabilize around two percent in 2020,” says Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of economic research at The Conference Board.
The Conference Board’s Coincident Economic Index, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.4 percent in November to 106.8. This growth follows a decline of 0.1 percent in October and a 0.1-percent increase in September. Its Lagging Economic Index, an indicator representing changes that come only after the economy has begun to follow a particular trend, also increased in November, climbing 0.5 percent to 108.7. This follows a 0.2-percent increase in October and a 0.1-percent increase in September.
