Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. Increased 0.7% in June

The Conference Board, which was founded in 1916 as a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank, released Thursday (7-22-21) their June 2021 Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. According to the release, the LEI (which is based on ten separate components) increased 0.7% in June to 115.1 (2016 = 100), following a 1.2% increase in May and a 1.3% increase in April.

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.S. increased by 0.4% in June to 105.5 (2016 = 100), following a 0.5% increase in May and a 0.1% increase in April.

The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index® (LAG) for the U.S. was unchanged in June at 105.8 (2016 = 100), following a 0.6% increase in May and 3.0% increase in April.

In a statement prepared for the June LEI release, Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director of Economic Research at The Conference Board said, “June’s gain in the U.S. LEI was broad-based and, despite negative contributions from housing permits and average workweek, suggests that strong economic growth will continue in the near term. While month-over-month growth slowed somewhat in June, the LEI’s overall upward trend — which started with the end of the pandemic-induced recession in April 2020 — accelerated further in Q2. The Conference Board still forecasts year-over-year real GDP growth of 6.6 percent for 2021 and a healthy 3.8 percent for 2022.”