Leading Indicators Decline in July

Offering more evidence that the nation’s economic recovery is losing steam, a closely watched gauge of future economic activity fell in July for the second consecutive month.

The Conference Board said its index of leading economic indicators dropped by 0.3% in July to 116 after a revised decline of 0.1% in June. Last month was the first time in more than a year that the index had lost ground, and the July decline was larger than the 0.1% drop forecast by analysts.

In another report, the Labor Department said the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell by 3,000 to 331,000 last week. The four-week moving average of claims, which smooths out fluctuations in the figures, dropped to 337,000 from 339,500 in the previous week.