U.S. Data is Being Leaked, ECB Study Suggests

by Steve Goldstein
Market Watch

Key U.S. economic information may have been leaked ahead of its release, judging from the price moves in key equity and bond futures contracts, according to a study released Monday.

The European Central Bank published a working paper — which means it hasn’t been peer reviewed as yet — arguing that seven out of 21 market-moving announcements show evidence of “substantial informed trading” before the official release time.

The paper identified seven indicators that they said showed “strong” evidence of pre-announcement drift: The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index; the National Association of Realtors’ existing-home sales report and pending-home sales report; the Commerce Department’s preliminary GDP report; the Federal Reserve’s industrial production report; and the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing and nonmanufacturing index.

Continue Reading at MarketWatch.com…