2018.08.1710:19:00UTC+00U.S. Leading Economic Index Climbs More Than Expected In July

A report released by the Conference Board on Friday showed a bigger than expected increase by its index of leading U.S. economic indicators in the month of July.

The Conference Board said its leading economic index climbed by 0.6 percent in July following a 0.5 percent increase in June. Economists had expected the index to rise by 0.4 percent.

"The U.S. LEI increased in July, suggesting the US economy will continue expanding at a solid pace for the remainder of this year," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at the Conference Board.

He added, "The strengths among the components of the leading index were very widespread, with unemployment claims, the financial components, and the ISM New Orders Index making the largest positive contributions."

The report said the coincident economic index edged up by 0.2 percent in July after rising by 0.3 percent in June, while the lagging economic index dipped by 0.2 percent after ticking up by 0.2 percent in the previous month.