Leading indicators decline

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Thursday, July 22, 2004 | 9:15 a.m.

WASHINGTON -- A closely watched gauge of future economic activity declined last month for the first time in more than a year, falling short of analysts' expectations.

The Conference Board said today its Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators dropped 0.2 percent in June to 116.2 following rises of 0.4 percent in May, 0.1 percent in April and 0.8 percent in March. Analysts had been expecting the index to remain flat in June.

Also today, the Labor Department reported that 339,000 newly laid-off workers showed up at state unemployment offices for the week ending July 17, down by 11,000 from the previous week.