A closely-watched gauge of future U.S. economic activity rose slightly in October, a private research organization said Monday, suggesting that recent weakness in the housing market has not been severe enough to offset lower gasoline prices and a rising stock market. The Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators, which is designed to predict economic activity in the coming three to six months, rose 0.2 percent in October to 138.3, slightly below economists' forecasts. The index's peak this year was in January, when it stood at 139.1. October's modest increase fit with economists' view that economic growth is slowing. The index fell in both July and August before rising modestly in September. The index suggests “the economy is unlikely either to reheat or to get significantly cooler,” Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said. “Instead, the kind of slow growth now being experienced could continue … through the winter and into the spring.” Six of the ten indicators that comprise the index rose in October, but a sharp decline in housing permits partially offset those gains.
