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March 18, 2005
Some mixed economic news for your Friday
From MSNBC
WASHINGTON - An index designed to forecast future economic activity rose a middling 0.1 percent in February after a decline of 0.3 percent in January, the Conference Board reported on Thursday.
Still, the February increase was the third in the last four months, and Conference Board economist Kenneth Goldstein said the trend was "pointing to (economic) growth this spring."
The business-financed research group said its Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators advanced to 115.6 in February from 115.5 the previous month. The index had risen 0.3 percent in both November and December.
Goldstein said the statistics were "reflecting an economy that is continuing to improve."
The index is designed to predict economic activity over the next three to six months.
In Washington, meanwhile, the Labor Department reported that the number of new people signing up for unemployment benefits last week declined for the first time in a month — an encouraging sign that the jobs market may be gaining traction.
The department said new applications for unemployment insurance dropped a seasonally adjusted 10,000 to 318,000 for the week ending March 12. The level of 318,000 was the lowest since late February.
The last time new filings for jobless benefits fell was in the week ending Feb. 12, when they dipped by 1,000.
NEW YORK - U.S. consumers became less upbeat in early March as rising gasoline costs made Americans more uneasy about the economy, a report said on Friday.
The University of Michigan said its measure of confidence had slipped to 92.9 so far this month from 94.1 in February, according to market sources who saw the subscription-only report.
"It sounds like there's a bit of a negative reaction to higher oil prices but the level of confidence is still more than high enough to keep consumer spending growing solidly," said Jim O'Sullivan, senior economist at UBS in Stamford, Conn.
The decline took analysts by surprise, since a recent burst of hiring had prompted many to forecast a slight gain to around 95.0.
The survey's expectations component eased to 83.6 from 84.4, while sentiment on current conditions dipped to 107.3 from 109.2.
Kash at Angry Bear has more on rising oil prices.
Posted by William Polley at March 18, 2005 2:33 PM
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