Reuters (06/11) - A gauge of future U.S. economic activity increased in
September, suggesting some momentum in the economy before last month's
partial shutdown of the federal government.The Conference Board
said on Wednesday that its Leading Economic Index rose 0.7 percent to
97.1 in September. It had increased by the same margin in August.Economists polled by Reuters had expected the index to rise 0.6 percent in September.'The
September LEI suggests the economy was expanding modestly and possibly
gaining momentum before the government shutdown,' said Ken Goldstein,
economist at The Conference Board.'Beyond the immediate fallout
of the shutdown, the biggest challenge is whether relatively weak
consumer demand, pinned down by weak wage growth and low levels of
confidence, will recover during the final stretch of 2013 and into
2014.'A fight over the budget and raising the nation's borrowing limit shut the federal government for 16 days last month.
