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leading indicators

American

[lee-ding] / ˈli dɪŋ /

plural noun

Economics.

data that reflect current economic conditions and can suggest future developments or fluctuations in the nation's economy: issued, usually monthly, by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis in the Commerce Department.

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leading indicators

For deposit insurance, such a market would almost certainly set rates that reflect leading indicators of risk, such as rapid asset growth, rather than lagging indicators, such as the growth in a bank’s non-performing loans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 13, 2026

Not surprisingly, given that none of these theories supports a solid coincident indicator for gold’s gyrations, they all fail as leading indicators as well.

From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026

Second, leading indicators already point to softer momentum ahead.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2025

Of the states that are likely to report results fairly rapidly, Georgia, North Carolina and Michigan will be seen as leading indicators.

From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2024

A batch of data from Japan includes household spending and consumption figures, leading indicators, and the latest foreign exchange reserves.

From Reuters ● Oct. 5, 2023

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023