A closely watched gauge of future U.S. economic activity rose in April to its highest level in almost five years, as improving housing and labor market conditions offset weakness in manufacturing, a private-sector research organization said Friday, suggesting an expected growth slowdown would be temporary. The Conference Board reported that its leading economic indicators-designed to predict U.S. activity in the coming three to six months-increased 0.6 percent to 95.0 last month, the highest level since June 2008. The index had declined 0.2 percentage point in April. Economic activity is expected to slow in the second quarter due to the effects of higher pension taxes and deep government spending cuts. However, housing and employment are showing moderate strength, while manufacturing is beginning to lose momentum. “The biggest positive factor is the potential for improvement in the recovering housing and labor markets," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said in a statement. “The biggest unknown is the resiliency in confidence, both consumer and business."
