Worst of economic downturn may be over

Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2001 | 10:01 a.m.

NEW YORK -- A key gauge of U.S. economic activity rose for the second consecutive month in November, suggesting that the worst of the economic downturn is over, a private research firm said today.

The New York-based Conference Board reported its Index of Leading Economic Indicators moved up a better-than-expected 0.5 percent last month to 109.7 following a revised 0.1 percent increase in October. Analysts had forecast a 0.3 percent gain.

"The recession is not getting more intense," said Conference Board economist Michael Fort. "These increases bring the level of this series back to where it was in August."

The improvement in the index in October and November indicated that the economic fallout from the Sept. 11th terrorist attacks in New York and Washington had faded, the Conference Board said.

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