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The government said Friday that its gauge of future economic activity, the Index of Leading Indicators, increased 0.2 percent in July and did not fall as previously estimated in June, providing more evidence that the economy has slowed down but is not recession bound. The Commerce Department said the index grew by 0.2 percent in July to a level of 144 on a basis of 100 in 1982, but it is still below its December 1988 level of 145. In the first seven months of 1989, the index fell at an annual rate of 1.2 percent, in contrast with a 4.9 percent advance in the same period of 1988, when the economy grew 4.4 percent.