A key gauge of the direction of the US economy dropped 0.5 percent last month, resuming a slide that began in January after a standstill in April, a private research group said on Monday. The New York-based Conference Board said its index of leading indicators fell to 114.1 in May, signalling a slower pace of US economic growth in the third quarter.
May's drop was larger than the 0.3 percent decline Wall Street economists had expected. However, the Conference Board revised April's index upward to an unchanged reading from a previously reported decline of 0.2 percent.
Only one of the 10 indicators in the index - stock prices - increased in May.
"This is not just a domestic phenomenon," Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said in a statement, noting similar softness in six of the eight countries for which the group has leading indexes.
"Energy prices are one factor driving this global trend," he said. "Of more concern is the level of confidence of both consumers and chief executives, which has been choppy."
The US index has declined at a 2.2 percent annual rate over the last six months and has dropped 1.9 percent over the past year.
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