By CountingPips.com
The U.S. Leading Indicators Index published by the Conference Board today increased for the sixth straight month in September. The Leading Indicator Index, which measures future economic activity, registered a 1.0 percent increase in 
September following a revised increase of 0.4 percent in August. September’s increase was higher than the market forecasts which were predicting a gain of 0.8 percent for the month.
The coincident index, which is viewed as a measure of the current economic activity, was unchanged in September for the second consecutive month while the lagging index edged down by 0.3 percent after declining by 0.1 percent in August.
An economist at the Conference Board, Ken Goldstein commented on the report saying, “With the sixth consecutive increase, the LEI’s six-month growth rate has improved to its highest pace since 1983.” He furthered that, “Except for average workweek and building permits, all the leading indicators contributed positively to the index this month. At the same time, the contraction in the coincident economic index has halted in recent months, but the continued downtrend in employment is keeping this index of current economic conditions from rising faster.”
Weekly 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 October 17th. New jobless claims grew to a total of 531,000 unemployed workers, an increase over the prior week by 11,000 workers. A 4-week moving average of unemployed workers fell by 750 workers from the prior week to a total of 532,250.
Meanwhile, workers seeking continuing claims for unemployment benefits for the week ending October 10th decreased by 98,000 workers to a total of 5,923,000 unemployed workers. A four week moving average of continuing claims declined by 59,250 to 6,030,750.
US Dollar higher in Forex Trading today.
The U.S. dollar has been trading higher today against the other major currencies in the spot forex market. The dollar has been stronger versus the euro, British pound, Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, New Zealand dollar and the Japanese yen in the afternoon of the U.S. session at 12:46pm according to currency data by Oanda.
Meanwhile, the U.S. stock markets have been mixed in trading today with the Dow Jones having gained by over 70 points and surpassing the 10,000 level while the Nasdaq has been down slightly by over 3 points. The S&P500 has gained almost 3 points to trade around the 1,084.32 level at time of writing. Gold has declined today by approximately $10.50 to trading around the $1,053.20 per ounce level while oil has edged down by $1.15 to trade at $80.22 per barrel.
EUR/USD Daily Chart – The Euro has been falling slightly today versus the US Dollar in forex trading. The EUR/USD reached its highest level of the year yesterday above 1.5040 level and today the bulls and bears are battling it out right around the psychological 1.5000 level.
