Leading economic indicators rise 0.7% in February (by Ruth Mantell)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Economic progress may continue through the summer and possibly beyond, the Conference Board said Thursday as it reported that its index of leading economic indicators grew 0.7% in February, led by improving jobless claims. "Continued broad-based gains in the LEI for the United States confirm a more positive outlook for general economic activity in the first half of 2012," said Ataman Ozyildirim, a Conference Board economist. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected a February gain of 0.6%. The reading for January was revised to 0.2% from a prior estimate of 0.4%. The LEI is a weighted gauge of 10 indicators that are designed to signal business cycle peaks and troughs. Among the 10 indicators that make up the LEI, eight made positive contributions in February.