By CountingPips.com
U.S. economic news releases out of the U.S. today showed that the U.S. Leading Indicators Index published by the Conference Board today increased for the ninth straight month in December. The Leading Indicator Index, which measures future economic activity, rose by 1.1 percent in December following a revised increase of 1.0 percent in November and a 0.3 percent gain in October. December’s advance surpassed the market forecasts which were
The coincident index, which is viewed as a measure of the current economic activity, increased by 0.1 percent in December while the lagging index edged down by 0.2 percent after declining by 0.5 percent in November.
An economist at the Conference Board, Ken Goldstein commented on the report saying, “The indicators point to an economy in early recovery. The coincident economic index shows slow expansion of economic activity through December. The leading economic index suggests that the pace of improvement could pick up this spring.”
Philly Fed Business Survey falls but still positive
The Philadelphia Manufacturing Business Index released today by the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank showed that its survey decreased in January but has stayed in positive territory for the fifth straight month. The Philly general business diffusion index decreased to 15.2 in January after December’s revised score of 22.5. A positive score is consider growth in that business sector while a negative score is considered a contraction. Continuing to show positive levels this month in the business survey were the indexes for general activity, new orders, shipments and number of employees.
Jobless Claims rise
A release by the U.S. Labor Department showed that weekly U.S. jobless claims increased in the week that ended on January 16th. New jobless claims grew to a total of 482,000 unemployed workers, an increase over the prior week by 36,000 workers. A 4-week moving average of unemployed workers rose by 7,000 workers from the prior week to a total of 448,250.
Meanwhile, workers seeking continuing claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending January 9th decreased by 18,000 workers to a total of 4,599,000 unemployed workers. A four week moving average of continuing claims declined by 109,750 to 4,750,500.
US Dollar mixed as Stock Markets fall
The U.S. Dollar has been mixed in the forex markets today following two days of strong gains while the U.S. stock markets have had their largest declining day of the new year. The dollar has advanced versus the British pound, Australian dollar, New Zealand dollar and the Canadian dollar while declining against the Japanese yen and the Swiss franc in forex trading as of 1:44 pm EST in the afternoon of the US trading session. The euro, which has been fallen substantially versus the dollar the past two days, is trading virtually unchanged against the American currency around the 1.4115 exchange rate.
The U.S. stock markets, meanwhile, are having a brutal session today with the Dow falling around 200 points, the Nasdaq decreasing by over 20 points while the S&P 500 is declining by roughly 17 points. Oil has traded lower to $76.61 while gold has fallen by $14.20 to trading around the $1,089.80 per ounce level.
