New York, January 21—The Index of Leading Economic Indicators, rose 0.2% in December, to 115.4, after a revised 0.3% increase in November, according to the Conference Board. It was the second straight monthly increase for the gauge after five consecutive months of declines.
Four of the index's 10 components made positive contributions: consumer expectations improved, stock prices rose, the money supply grew faster and jobless claims declined.
The negative contributors came from slower vendor performance, a narrower interest-rate spread, fewer building permits and declining new orders for manufactured goods.
Average weekly manufacturing hours held steady.
Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said, "The leading index is now flashing more green. That signals while we might hit some choppiness in early 2005, by spring we will have decent or better overall economic growth."
The coincident index, the index of current economic activity, increased 0.3% to 118.6 last month. All four indicators that make up the coincident index increased in December.
The lagging index, which focuses on past economic activity, remained unchanged last month at 98.9.
