The U.S. index of leading indicators took another turn lower in August, amid concerns about the state of the consumer sector.

The Conference Board said today that its composite index of leading indicators fell by 0.3% to a reading of 115.7 in August, from the revised 0.3% decline seen the month before. August’s reading was in line with what economists expected. The index was equal to 100 in 1996.

The Conference Board attributed August’s weakness to a variety of factors, although it did note that the last three months of negative readings “have not been long enough or deep enough to signal an end to the upward trend in the leading index underway since March 2003.”

Still, “there is concern about weak consumption and the pace of wage and salary increases,” said Ken Goldstein, economist with the Conference Board, in a release. “Businesses worry about the ability to raise prices and to cover rising costs,” he added.

The report noted that only three out of the 10 indicators making up the overall index rose in August, led by manufacturers new orders for consumer goods and materials, the money supply, and weekly unemployment insurance claims. The negatives were driven by interest-rate spreads, building permits, and consumer-confidence levels.

The coincident index rose by 0.2% to 117.8, the same increase that was seen in July. The composite index of lagging indicators, however, decreased by 0.1% to 98.2, after the 0.6% gain reported for the prior month.

The Conference Board’s report comes just days after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the third time since June.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department said initial jobless claims rose by 14,000 to a seasonally adjusted 350,000 in the week that ended Sept. 18. That marked the highest level since the week of Aug. 28. The four-week average, which smoothes out weekly fluctuations, rose slightly to 341,000.