Leading Economic Indicators Index Rose in November

A basket of economic indicators rose for the third consecutive month in November.

The Conference Board's leading economic index rose 0.4% to 130.9 last month after logging gains in October and September.

The reading was in line with expectations of economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal, who had projected a 0.4% gain.

Comprised of 10 components, including initial claims for jobless benefits, factory orders and the S&P 500's price change, the index is intended to signal swings in the business cycle and to smooth out some of the volatility of individual indicators.

Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at the Conference Board, said November's gain signals that solid economic growth could continue into the first half of 2018.

"In recent months, unemployment insurance claims have returned to pre-hurricane levels," he said. "In addition, improving financial indicators, new orders in manufacturing and historically high consumer sentiment have propelled the U.S. LEI even higher."

The board's coincident index--designed to reflect current economic conditions and made up of four data points including nonfarm payrolls--rose 0.3% last month after rising by the same amount in October.

The index of lagging indicators rose 0.1% last month after rising 0.3% in October.

Write to Imani Moise at imani.moise@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 21, 2017 11:12 ET (16:12 GMT)