A forecast of US economic growth dropped for the fifth straight month in February amid eroding consumer confidence and higher jobless claims, according to a private survey released Thursday, according to dpa. The US leading index fell by 0.3 per cent and six of the 10 economic indicators that form the index were down on the month, the New York-based Conference Board said. The last time the index fell five months in a row was in early 2001. It has now fallen 1.5 per cent since August and only two of its 10 indicators have risen in that period. Economic growth in the United States stalled to an annualized 0.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2007 and many economists believe the world's largest economy has since entered a recession. The Conference Board, which forecasts growth trends for the next three to six months, said the index suggested that "increasing risks for economic weakness are likely to continue in the near term." A rise in indicators based on interest rate spreads - given the Federal Reserve's drastic cuts in its key interest rate by a cumulative 2 percentage points since January - and real money supply was not enough to halt the February slide, the survey said.
