Despite headwinds from the war in Ukraine, the Conference Board released a report on Thursday showing its reading on leading U.S. economic indicators increased in line with economist estimates in the month of March.
The Conference Board said its leading economic index rose by 0.3 percent in March after climbing by an upwardly revised 0.6 percent in February.
Economists had expected the leading economic index to rise by 0.3 percent, matching the increase originally reported for the previous month.
"This broad-based improvement signals economic growth is likely to continue through 2022 despite volatile stock prices and weakening business and consumer expectations," said Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director of Economic Research at The Conference Board.
He added, "The Conference Board projects 3.0 percent year-over-year US GDP growth in 2022, which is slower than the 5.6 percent pace of 2021, but still well above pre-covid trend."
The report showed the coincident economic index climbed by 0.4 percent in March, matching the increase seen in February.
The lagging economic index also advanced by 0.6 percent in March following a 0.2 percent uptick in the previous month.
