America’s recessionary drums beat louder in August as a key economic gauge from the Conference Board dropped for the sixth month in a row, with a “major driver” being the Fed’s aggressive rate hikes.

The Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the United States, which is a forward-looking gauge made up of 10 individual indicators, fell by 0.3 percent in August, the Conference Board said on Sept. 22. The latest reading brings the total six-month drop to 2.7 percent in the LEI measure, which is designed to predict business cycle shifts including recessions.

“The US LEI declined for a sixth consecutive month potentially signaling a recession,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director for economics at the Conference Board, in a statement.