The index of leading economic indicators, a widely watched gauge of future U.S. economic activity, fell in October for the fifth consecutive month, suggesting that the economy may be slowing, a private research group reported today. A separate government report today showed that the number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week. The Conference Board, a business-financed research organization, said that its main measure of future economic growth fell 0.3 percent in October, following declines of the same size in the two previous months. The October decline was bigger than what economists had expected. Ken Goldstein, a Conference Board economist, called the latest decline in the index "a clear signal that the economy is losing steam." He also said that "worries about where the economy is headed may cause some strategic plans to be put on hold." However, the Conference Board also said that while the weakness in the economy has become more widespread in recent months, the recent declines in the index have not been large enough or persistent enough to indicate that the current expansion of the economy is coming to an end. --More 2005 Local Time 1705 GMT
