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Economic indicators rise
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March 2, 1999: 11:45 a.m. ET
Leading economic indicators up for third straight month; new houses off
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The leading economic indicators were up while new home sales were surprisingly down in January, according to reports released Tuesday.
The Conference Board, a private business-research group which compiles the data, reported Tuesday that the 10 leading economic indicators were up 0.5 percent, marking the third consecutive increase.
The figure beat analysts' estimates of 0.4 percent. The index increased a revised 0.2 percent in November.
"With the leading economic indicators posting three consecutive sharp increases, the U.S. economy does not seem to be ready to settle down much from the fast pace of growth it experienced in 1998," Michael Boldin, director of business cycle research said in a Conference Board statement. "Over the past six months, the index has increased 1.2 percent, which is far above its historical average and the prospects for growth in income and employment are very bright."
The Conference Board also said the coincident index rose 0.2 percent and the lagging index rose 0.4 percent in January.
The average factory workweek was the only one of the 10 leading indicators to fall. The other indicators are average weekly unemployment claims; manufacturers' new orders, consumer goods and materials; manufacturers' new orders of nondefense capital goods; building permits; vendor performance; stock prices, money supply; interest-rate spread, and the index of consumer expectations.
New Home Sales
Separately, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development said sales of new one-family houses in January were at a seasonally adjusted rate of 918,000.
This figure failed to meet analysts' estimates of 975,000 and was down 5 percent from the December rate of 966,000. However, it was up 8 percent higher than the January 1998 rate of 848,000.
The median sales price of new houses sold in January was $157,000. The mean sales price was $190,200. At the end of January, the seasonally adjusted estimate of new houses for sale was 302,000. This represents a supply of four months at the current sales rate.
Sales in the Northeast were down 7.2 percent, 24.9 percent in the Midwest, and 3.7 in the south. The West was the only area in the positive zone, reporting an 8-percent increase. .
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