New York — A key gauge of economic activity fell 0.2 percent in February, but the U.S. economy so far has avoided slipping into a recession, the Conference Board said Thursday.
The New York-based private research group said its Index of Leading Economic Indicators decreased to 108.8 last month after increasing a revised 0.5 percent in January.
While the leading index declined in four of the last five months, it has not declined enough to signal a recession, the group said.
Nonetheless, the Conference Board provided little encouragement that the economy would rebound any time soon.
"The Leading Economic Index suggests that this period of slower growth will probably continue for the next few months," said Ken Goldstein, economist for the Conference Board.
Other economists agreed, saying the report comes as no surprise and that it simply confirms that the economy is weak.
The index of coincident indicators, which measures current economic activity, rose 0.1 percent to 116.5. The index of lagging indicators, which reflects changes that have already happened, decreased 0.4 percent in February to 107.1.
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