The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index® Increases in April

The Conference Board, which was founded in 1916 as a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank, released today (5-20-21) their April 2021 Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. According to the release, the LEI which is based on ten separate components increased 1.6% in April, following a 1.3% increase in March and a -0.1% decline in February. The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.S. increased 0.3% in April, following a 0.9% increase in March and a -0.7% decrease in February. The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index® (LAG) for the U.S. increased 1.8% in April, following a -3.7% decrease in March and 2.5% increase in February. In remarks prepared for the February LEI release, Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director of Economic Research at The Conference Board said, “With April’s large monthly gain to start the second quarter, the U.S. LEI has now recovered fully from its COVID-19 contraction—surpassing the index’s previous peak, reached at the very onset of the global pandemic in January 2020. While employment and production have not recovered to their pre-pandemic levels yet, the U.S. LEI suggests the economy’s upward trend should continue and growth may even accelerate in the near term. The Conference Board now forecasts real GDP could grow around 8 to 9 percent (annualized) in the second quarter, with year-over-year economic growth reaching 6.4 percent for 2021.”