NEW YORK -- The U.S. economy should contract slightly in coming months as the ongoing slump in the housing industry takes a deeper toll on the economy, a gauge of future business activity showed Thursday.
The Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators fell 0.3 percent in June, higher than the 0.1 percent drop analysts were expecting and more than reversing last month's revised growth of 0.2 percent.
The Conference Board report, designed to forecast economic activity over the next three to six months, tracks 10 economic indicators.
The five negative contributors, beginning with the largest, were building permits, unemployment claims, consumer expectations, vendor performance and interest rate spread.
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