The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia Decreased

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May 18, 2015, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^® (LEI) for Australia decreased 0.1 percent in March to 104.1 (2010 = 100), following a 0.5 percent increase in February, and a 0.4 percent increase in January.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index^® (CEI) for Australia, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.5 percent in March to 108.4 (2010 = 100), following a 0.4 percent increase in February, and a 0.1 percent increase in January.

The Conference Board LEI for Australia declined slightly after three consecutive increases, but the strengths among its components have remained more widespread than the weaknesses. As a result, the six-month growth rate of the LEI has improved considerably over recent months. Meanwhile, the CEI for Australia continues to increase, and its six-month growth rate is much improved from six months ago. Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that the current economic expansion will continue in the near term.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^®(LEI) for Australia
The composite economic indexes are the key elements in an analytic system designed to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The leading and coincident economic indexes are essentially composite averages of several individual leading or coincident indicators. They are constructed to summarize and reveal common turning point patterns in economic data in a clearer and more convincing manner than any individual component – primarily because they smooth out some of the volatility of individual components.

The seven components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^® for Australia include:

Yield Spread, 10 year minus Policy Rate
Share Prices, All Ordinaries
Money Supply, M3
Rural Goods Exports
Sales to Inventory Ratio
Gross Operating Surplus, Private Non-Financial Corporations
Building Approvals

For more information including full press release and technical notes:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=7

For more information about The Conference Board global business cycle indicators:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bci.cfm

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is an independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org.

Summary Table of Composite Economic Indexes
	2015						6-month
	Jan		Feb		Mar		Sep to Mar

Leading Economic Index	103.7	p	104.2	p	104.1	p
Percent Change	0.4	p	0.5	p	-0.1	p	1.1
Diffusion	71.4		71.4		57.1		85.7

Coincident Economic Index	107.5	p	107.9	p	108.4	p
Percent Change	0.1	p	0.4	p	0.5	p	1.8
Diffusion	87.5		100.0		100.0		100.0

n.a. Not available p Preliminary r Revised
Indexes equal 100 in 2010
Source: The Conference Board All Rights Reserved