Financial News: U.S. Leading Economic Index Decreases For Fifth Straight

U.S. Leading Economic Index Decreases For Fifth Straight Month In December

02/19/2026 - 10:38:00 (RTTNews)

(RTTNews) - The Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing a continued decrease by its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of December.

The report said the leading economic index dipped by 0.2 percent in December after falling by 0.3 percent in November.

"The US LEI registered its fifth consecutive monthly decline in December, indicating continued softness in the economy in early 2026," said Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, Senior Manager, Business Cycle Indicators, at The Conference Board.

"Persistently weak consumer expectations indicators and the ISM New Orders Index made the largest negative contributions to the LEI in December," she added. "Labor market data also weighed on the Index, with an increase in unemployment claims and a decline in average weekly hours in manufacturing."

The Conference Board said the lagging economic index also edged down by 0.1 percent in December after inching up by 0.1 percent in November.

Meanwhile, the report said the coincident economic index rose by 0.2 percent in December after ticking up by 0.1 percent in November.

For comments and feedback: contact editorial@rttnews.com

Market News provided by RTTNews

RECENT INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL NEWS

Hong Kong Data Due On Friday (03 hr(s), 07 min(s), 35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Hong Kong will on Friday release Q4 numbers for industrial production and producer pri ...Full Story»

New Zealand Manufacturing PMI Little Changed In February - BusinessNZ (03 hr(s), 26 min(s), 35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The manufacturing sector in New Zealand continued to expand in February, albeit it at ...Full Story»

Thirty-Year Bond Auction Attracts Above Average Demand (07 hr(s), 30 min(s), 35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The Treasury Department finished off this week's series of announcements of the re ...Full Story»

Portugal Trade Gap Widens In January (10 hr(s), 01 min(s), 35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Portugal's trade shortfall increased in January from a year ago as exports fell fa ...Full Story»

Latvian Trade Deficit Narrows In January (10 hr(s), 31 min(s), 35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - Latvia's foreign trade deficit decreased in January from a year ago, as imports fe ...Full Story»

U.S. Housing Starts Unexpectedly Surge To 11-Month High In January (10 hr(s), 39 min(s), 35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - New residential construction in the U.S. unexpectedly surged to their highest level in ...Full Story»

U.S. Trade Deficit Narrows More Than Expected In January As Exports Surge (11 hr(s), 0 min(s),35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - The Commerce Department released a report on Thursday showing the U.S. trade deficit n ...Full Story»

U.S. Weekly Jobless Claims Unexpectedly Edge Slightly Lower (11 hr(s), 12 min(s), 35 sec(s) ago)
(RTTNews) - First-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits unexpectedly edged slightly lower in ...Full Story»