The economy still appears to be headed toward a recession even though many measures of economic conditions pointed to an acceleration in January.
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index (LEI) declined 0.3 percent in January, in line with what economists had forecast. This was the sixth straight month of declines for the index, although the pace of decline slowed. In December, the index fell 0.8 percent.
“The US LEI remained on a downward trajectory, but its rate of decline moderated slightly in January,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director, Economics, at The Conference Board. “The Conference Board still expects high inflation, rising interest rates, and contracting consumer spending to tip the US economy into recession in 2023.”
Contributing to the decline in Jnaury were deteriorating manufacturing new orders, consumers’ expectations of business…
