Economic Indicators Suggest Moderate Slowdown

The Conference Board said yesterday its index of leading economic indicators fell 0.1% in March, after a downwardly revised 0.5% decrease in February. According to a Reuters report, Wall Street economists had expected the March index to be unchanged, in keeping with the past six months of generally flat indicators. One economist said he believed the slight drop and previously slow-changing indicators suggest that upcoming economic growth will be weaker than in years past, though not sluggish or negative.
On the positive side, claims for government jobless benefits fell by 10,000 last week, and first-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped to 303,000 in the week ended April 15, down from 313,000 the previous week.