U.S. LEADING INDEX FELL 1.0 PCT IN JANUARY

  The U.S. index of leading indicators
  fell a seasonally adjusted 1.0 pct in January after a revised
  2.3 pct December gain, the Commerce Department said.
      The department previously said the index rose 2.1 pct in
  December.
      The decline in January was the biggest for any month since
  July, 1984, when the index fell 1.7 pct.
      The January decrease left the index at 183.8 over its 1967
  base of 100, and was led by a fall in contracts and orders for
  plant and equipment.
      A total of six of 10 indicators available for January
  contributed to the decline.
      Besides contracts and orders for plant and equipment, they
  were building permits, manufacturers' new orders for consumer
  goods, a change in sensitive materials prices, slower
  deliveries from vendors and higher average weekly claims for
  state unemployment insurance.
      Four of 10 indicators were positive, including stock
  prices, new business formation, average work week and money
  supply.
      The main factor for the December upward revision was new
  business formation.
      There was no revision in the 0.9 pct increase in the
  leading indicators index for November.
      The index of coincident indicators, which measures the
  current economy, fell 0.1 pct in January after increases of 0.7
  pct in December and 0.2 pct in November.
      The index of lagging indicators, which measures past
  economic activity, rose 0.5 pct in January after a decrease of
  0.5 pct in December and an increase of 0.2 pct in November.
  

