US economy may be on the cusp of a recession, Conference Board says

America's economy might be on the cusp of a recession, an index meant to foreshadow the economic cycle showed.

The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators fell by 0.8% month-on-month in October (consensus: -0.4%).

In parallel, the index of coincident indicators rose by 0.2%.

According to the Conference Board, "taken together, the current behavior of the composite indexes and their components suggests that the economy may be on the cusp of a recession in the near term."

Of the LEI's 10 components, just three contributed positively to the index, the interest rate spread, manufacturers' new orders for core capital goods and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and material.

Over the six months ending in October, the LEI dropped 3.2% or roughly 6.3% in annualised terms, against a 0.5% increase over the prior six-month stretch.