(Finance) – The US superindex on American economic conditions rises as expected. According to what was communicated by the Conference Board in the United States, the Leading Indicator (LEI) stood at 119.8 points in March, an increase of 0.3% compared to the previous month, in line with what analysts expected. The figure compares with + 0.6% last month (revised from + 0.3%).
The component that concerns the current situation increased by 0.4% to 108.7 points, while that on future expectations grew by 0.6% to 110.9 points.
“The US LEI rose again in March despite the headwinds of the war in Ukraine” – he has declared Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director of Economic Research at the Conference Board -. “This large improvement signals that Economic growth is likely to continue until 2022, despite price volatility of shares and the weakening of the expectations of businesses and consumers. The Conference Board expects US GDP growth of 3% yoy in 2022, slower than the 5.6% pace of 2021, but still well above the pre-covid trend. This rate also reflects a 0.5 ppt downgrade incorporated into our base case to include the effects of the war in Ukraine compared to pre-war (3.5%). ”
However – concludes Ozyildirim – “downside risks to growth prospects remainassociated with the intensification of supply chain disruptions and inflation linked to persistent pandemic closures and war, as well as tightening monetary policy and persistent labor shortages. ”