Leading US economic indicators that forecast the state of the economy for the next several months fell again in January, marking the fourth consecutive month the index has dropped, according to a report released Thursday, according to dpa. The January decline of 0.1 per cent brought the total drop of the index since July to 2 per cent, or an annualized rate of 4 per cent, making it the largest drop in a six-month period since 2001, said the Conference Board, a private group which surveys the US economy based on 10 measurements. The New York-based Conference Board attributed the decrease to a drop in the value of stocks and fewer permits to build new homes. Six of the 10 leading indicators that make up the board's index lost ground in January, it said.
