Dive Brief:
- An index aimed at predicting future strength of the U.S. economy edged down last month, eroded by worsening consumer expectations and a decline in building permits, the Conference Board said Friday.
- The Leading Economic Index dipped 0.1% to 99.5 after rising 0.2% in July, according to the Conference Board. Four out of the index’s 10 components fell, with measures of credit availability and equity prices helping to avert a deeper drop. During the six months through August, the index declined 0.1%, a slower pace than the 0.6% pullback during the previous six months.
- Consumer expectations remained “a significant strain on the index,” Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager for business cycle indicators at the Conference Board, said in a statement. Economic “growth is expected to slow,” she said. The…
