On August 20, data released by the Conference Board, a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization, on Tuesday showed that major U.S. economic indicators still point to an economic slowdown, but no longer indicate a recession. This is a positive signal for risky assets, including cryptocurrencies. The organization's leading economic indicator (LEI) fell 0.6% to 100.4 in July after falling 0.2% in June. According to data source MacroMicro, the indicator peaked in the second quarter of 2022 and has been declining since then. LEI includes several forward-looking indicators, such as average weekly hours in manufacturing, average weekly initial unemployment insurance applications, ISM new orders index, stock prices and leading credit index. It helps identify changes in economic trends and turning points in financial markets, and is considered one of the most reliable signals of a recession (defined as consecutive quarterly contractions in growth rates). The continued decline in the leading index indicates that the economy is about to encounter headwinds. However, the annualized six-month change rate of the leading index in July narrowed to -2.1% from -3.1% in June, indicating that the risk of a recession is weakening. "The leading index continued to decline month-on-month, but the six-month annualized rate no longer signals a recession ahead," Justyna Zabinska-La Monica, senior manager of business cycle indicators at the committee, said in a statement. The latest data may be reassuring to risk asset bulls. The pain trade in stocks and cryptocurrencies may now be at higher levels, given the recent market decline and the resulting depressed sentiment. Earlier this month, the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data showed a sharp slowdown in job growth in July, and the market began to worry about a recession. The bull steepening of the U.S. Treasury yield curve has predicted a recession, and the so-called Sam's rule has issued a similar warning. The massive unwinding of the yen carry trade has added fuel to the fire.