NEW YORK, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A weekly measure of future U.S. economic growth fell to a nine-week low along with its yearly growth rate, but the dip in the index that recently reached a record high does not signal a rocky recovery, a research group said on Friday.
The Economic Cycle Research Institute, a New York-based independent forecasting group, said its Weekly Leading Index slipped to 127.4 in the week to Nov. 13, from an upwardly revised 127.8 the prior week, which was originally reported as 127.3.
The index's yearly growth rate also hit a nine-week low of 25.0 percent from 26.1 percent last week, which the group revised higher from 25.3 percent.
Though the index's gauge of annualized growth has fallen off record highs reached in early October, ECRI Managing Director Lakshman Achuthan said the group maintains its forecast that the economy is still on the mend.
The index "is still pointing unambiguously to a continued economic recovery," said Achuthan.
The weekly index fell because of slower housing activity, Achuthan said. The growth rate is derived from a four-week moving average, and occasionally moves inversely to the weekly index level. (Reporting by Camille Drummond; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)
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