Slow growth — but growth, nonetheless — ahead:

The private Conference Board just reported that its Leading Economic Index rose 0.1% in February from January.

That gauge, which is supposed to forecast how the economy will be doing in coming months, "has risen rapidly for almost a year now and it has reached its highest level," says Ataman Ozyildirim, a Conference Board economist, in a statement. "But, the sharp pick-up in the LEI appears to be stabilizing. As the economy moves from recovery into early phases of an expansion, the leading economic index points to moderately improving economic conditions in the near term."

Ken Goldstein, another Conference Board economist, adds that "the indicators point to a slow recovery this summer. Going forward, the big question remains the strength of demand. Without increased consumer demand, job growth will likely be minimal over the next few months."

Planet Money follows the economy here.