Composite leading index rises

The composite leading index rose 0.4% in July, after small declines in May and June were revised up to no change. The increase in July was the first advance since August 2008, just before the turmoil in global financial markets deteriorated significantly.

Overall, 6 of 10 components expanded in July, the most since May 2008. Just four months earlier, the money supply was the only component that increased, when the overall index fell 1.4%, its fastest rate of decline in the current downturn.

The stock market and housing continued to post the largest gains, although the stock market leapfrogged ahead of housing with a 5.7% increase. The upturn in household spending spread from housing to other durable goods, which posted their first advance in over a year.

Not all sectors of household spending were upbeat. Furniture and appliance sales continued to trend down, while personal services pulled down services employment.

The leading indicator for the United States continued to improve, rising 0.4% for the first back-to-back gain in about two years. House sales and starts turned up in the last three months, while industrial output stabilized. The improvement in the US economy was not reflected in Canada's manufacturing sector, where new orders continued to decline, falling nearly 6%. Meanwhile, the ratio of shipments to inventories continued to be restrained by falling exports, notably autos and forestry products.

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