The composite index rose by 0.2% in July, after an upward revised 0.3% increase in June, Statistics Canada reported today.

The government agency said the components related to consumer spending continued to lead growth, while the housing and stock markets rebounded from their spring slump after leading growth at the start of the year.

Partly offsetting these gains was a slowdown in the United States, which aggravated the drop in orders for manufactured goods in Canada.

StatsCan said the largest increases among the 10 components of the composite index were in sales of furniture and appliances (+1.%) and other durable goods (+0.9%).

Higher housing starts helped buttress the housing index. Starts in the first half of the year were running ahead of last year’s pace, in marked contrast to the slowdown in the United States.

The stock market rallied over the summer. Increased demand for business services also helped boost the services employment component.

The leading indicator for the United States fell 0.2%. This followed a 0.1% drop the month before, and suggests a continuation of the economy’s slow growth that surfaced in the second quarter. A retreat in the housing sector outweighed a pickup in industrial demand and exports.

Lower shipments to the United States continued to hamper manufacturing activity in Canada. New orders were particularly weak, down 0.9%, their largest drop since early 2003. The ratio of shipments to inventories was unchanged, thanks to firms moving quickly to trim output in line with the drop in shipments.