The Conference Board’s index of leading US economic indicators declined by 0.1% in March. Despite the March decline, the index remains up 1.7% from last year. In terms of components, the largest contributors to the headline decline were consumer confidence, building permits, and the ISM new orders index. These were only partially offset by positive financial indicators from interest rate spreads, stock prices, and the leading credit index which provided the largest positive contributions. Accommodative monetary policy and the ongoing housing market recovery should continue to push the index higher in coming months, but headwinds include softer hiring and investment growth in Q2 relative to Q1.