The government said Tuesday it has revised downward its key gauge of the state of the economy for July, with the index of coincident indicators falling to 10 percent from a preliminary 12.5 percent.

A reading above 50 percent is considered a sign of economic expansion, while a reading below that level indicates contraction.

The key index, designed to measure the current state of the economy, stayed below the boom-or-bust line for the seventh consecutive month. It is the longest period it has stayed below 50 percent since a 17-month stretch between August 1997 and December 1998, when the economy was in recession.