Leading economic indicators up 0.1 percent in July

A private research group said its gauge of future economic activity edged up last month, suggesting growth will be sluggish for the rest of the year.

The Conference Board said Thursday that its index of leading economic indicators rose 0.1 percent last month after dropping 0.3 percent in June.

The leading indicators gauge had risen sharply from spring 2009 through March of this year but has flattened out since then.

Businesses aren't building up their stocks as quickly as they did after the recession ended. Consumers are saving at higher rates and spending less.

Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said this combination resulted in "a weak economy with little forward momentum. However, the good news is that the data do not point to a recession." Wells Fargo Securities estimates that the economy will grow by 2 percent or less for the remainder of the year.

The index is calculated from 10 measures of the housing sector, employment, financial markets and manufacturing. In July, The Conference Board said longer workweeks in factories and fewer people filing for unemployment aid pointed to a better economy.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia said manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region has dropped during August. The Fed survey was negative 7.7 for August after a reading of positive 5.1 last month.

Economists were expecting the index to rise this month. Any reading above zero indicates growth in the sector.