| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
WASHINGTON: A key index tracking the US economy barely rose in February, indicating that economic growth after a brutal recession may have peaked, the Conference Board said on Thursday.
The business research firm said its forward-looking leading economic index (LEI) gained just 0.1 percent following a rise of 0.3 percent in January and 1.2 percent in December.
The rise, the smallest in 11 months, was held down by the manufacturing and labour market components, underscoring the nearly double-digit unemployment crisis threatening growth.
The 0.1 percent increase, however, matched the consensus forecast of analysts who had expected the pace of recovery since the middle of last year to ease as government stimulus efforts to jolt the economy from recession fade.
"The LEI for the US has risen rapidly for almost a year now and it has reached its highest level," said economist Ataman Ozyildirim at The Conference Board, adding that the sharp pickup appeared to be stabilising.
"As the economy moves from recovery into early phases of an expansion, the leading economic index points to moderately improving economic conditions in the near term," Ozyildirim said.
Analysts said the leading indicators were signalling slower growth as the boost from an inventory swing and the fiscal stimulus faded.
"The moderation is consistent with our view that the recovery is maturing and that the economy is downshifting to a slower rate of growth," said Michael Bratus, an associate economist at Moody's Economy.com.
Although some of the decline in manufacturing may have been related to snowstorms that wreaked havoc in February, "the underlying trend was likely still slow."
"In coming months, we will need at least a modest uptick in the labour market indicators to ensure that the recovery is on track to becoming a broad-based, self-sustaining expansion in 2011," Bratus said.
The Conference Board's index of coincident indicators, which tracks current economic activity, also rose 0.1 percent in February after being flat a month earlier and rising 0.1 percent in December.
The index gauges the state of components including payrolls, incomes, sales and production. - AFP/de
|
