R.I. leading indicators unchanged in April

AN INDEX OF THE STATE'S leading economic indicators held steady in April, stopping eight consecutive months of increases. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM
AN INDEX OF THE STATE'S leading economic indicators held steady in April, stopping eight consecutive months of increases. / COURTESY E-FORECASTING.COM

PROVIDENCE – An index of Rhode Island’s leading economic indicators produced by Providence Business News and e-forecasting.com was unchanged at 122.4 in April.
A reading of 100 on the Providence Business News/e-forecasting.com Leading Economic Indicator Index is equivalent to the state’s activity in 2000.
The state leading indicator was unchanged in April after a revised 0.2 percent increase in March, bringing to an end an eight-month streak of increases.
The economic-indicator index uses nine statistics to forecast the direction of the state’s economy over the next three to six months. Positive numbers signal growth while negative numbers denote contraction.
Five of the nine statistics had positive contributions to the index in April, including: unemployment claims, building permits, national stock prices, interest rate spread and the state employment barometer.
Four components made negative contributions to Rhode Island’s economy in April, including: weekly hours in manufacturing, exports of manufacturers, regional consumer expectations and the national orders index.
In April, Rhode Island’s six-month growth rate – “a signal of turning points” – was 2.8 percent, a slight decrease from March’s 3.1 percent rate.
By comparison, the long-term annual growth rate for the index was 2 percent, the same as the annual growth rate of the state’s overall economic activity.

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