January 2021 Leading Economic Index Improved The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S increased 0.5 percent in January to 110.3 (2016 = 100), following a 0.4 percent increase in December and a 0.9 percent increase in November - and the authors say " January's gains were broad-based and suggest economic growth should improve gradually over the first half of 2021". Analyst Opinion of the Leading Economic Index Because of the significant backward revisions, the current values of this index cannot be trusted. My opinion is that the economy entered a recession in March but likely left the depression in June when the economy began to improve.