Britain\'s leading indicators slipped in June

The Leading Economic Index for Britain fell in June after five consecutive monthly increases, the Conference Board said Friday. Following a 0.2 percent gain in April and a 0.4 percent gain in May, the index dropped 0.2 percent in June to reach 104.8. The index assigns a base value of 100 to the year 2004 to provide a reference point. In June, four out of seven component indexes made gains in the month, including gains in equity markets and business and consumer confidence. Despite the overall decline, \" improvements in equity markets, business, and consumer sentiment in July suggest that the U.K. economic recovery is still ongoing,\" said Conference Board economist Brian Schaitkin in a statement. \"However, declines in income and employment so far this year demonstrate that labor markets may under-perform relative to output over the short term after a long period of flat to negative productivity growth,\" Schaitkin said.