(CercleFinance.com) – The index of leading indicators in the United States fell more than expected in January due in particular to a drop in the number of hours worked in the manufacturing industry, which suggests that the economy America is slowing down, the employers’ organization Conference Board announced Tuesday.
This precursor index, which foreshadows the general economic trend for the months to come, decreased by 0.4% in January, to 102.7, after a drop of 0.2% in December.
Economists anticipated a more limited decline, of around 0.2%.
Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, economist at ConfBoard, nevertheless underlines that for the first time in two years, the positive contributors to the statistic, of which there were six, prevailed over the negative factors, of which there were only four.
As a result, the Conference Board says it no longer expects a recession in the United States this year, but warns that it anticipates a slowdown in growth to levels close to zero in the second and third quarters.
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