The Conference Board’s US Leading Economic Index rose in December, suggesting a continued moderate growth pace. The index rose 0.5% in December to a reading of 124.6 (2010 = 100), following a 0.1% increase in November and a 0.2% increase in October.

“The US Leading Economic Index increased in December, suggesting the economy will continue growing at a moderate pace, perhaps even accelerating slightly in the early months of this year,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, director of business cycles and growth research at The Conference Board. “December’s large gain was mainly driven by improving sentiment about the outlook and suggests the business cycle still showed strong momentum in the final months of 2016.”