A closely watched leading indicator for the US economy rose 0.4 per cent in July, the Conference Board said.
The economic and consumer-research body said the July index increased to 138.1 while June's index declined by an unrevised 0.3 per cent to 137.5.
The leading indicator has increased in three of the last six months and in July was bolstered by consumer expectations, vendor performance and initial claims for unemployment insurance, the board said.
This helped offset negative contributions from housing permits, manufacturers' new orders for non-defence capital goods and the interest rate spread.