--US Apr LEI +0.1% to 108.7; Mar revised to -0.2% at 108.6
--Conf Bd: Declining trend in US LEI index "softening"

New York, May 17 (BridgeNews) - A key economic forecasting gauge rose slightly in April, suggesting that the declining trend seen in the index in the last several months may be "softening," the Conference Board said Thursday. The index of leading economic indicators, designed to forecast trends in the economy six to nine months in advance, rose 0.1% in April to 108.7, following a revised 0.2% decline to 108.6 in March, the Conference Board said.
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The latest LEI decline marks the second rise in the first four months of the year as well as in the last seven months, the Conference Board noted in its release.
Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said in the release: "The declining trend in the leading index is softening, in no small part because monetary policy is delivering money growth and widening the yield curve."
The Federal Reserve's monetary policy easings are likely to "keep the pace of economic activity from moderating further," he added. He expects modest strength in the services sector and limited recovery in manufacturing. But on the other hand, he expects limited job, income and gross domestic product growth in the next few months "barring any sudden economic shock."
The Conference Board, a private business research group, said three out of 10 indicators that make up the leading index rose in April. The increase was driven by interest rate spread, money supply and stock prices.
The negative contributors to the index were average weekly initial claims for unemployment insurance, vendor performance, building permits, index of consumer expectations and manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods and materials. Both average weekly manufacturing hours and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods held steady in April.
The Board also said its composite index of coincident indicators, designed to reflect current economic activity, remained steady at 116.5 in April, after rising a revised 0.1% in March to 116.5.
The index of lagging indicators, designed to show past economic activity, fell 0.3% in April to 106.7, after falling 0.3% in March to 107.0.