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

News provided by

Oct 21, 2014, 07:00 ET

NEW YORK, Oct. 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia decreased 0.2 percent in August to 128.9 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent increase in July, and a 0.2 percent increase in June.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Australia, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.2 percent in August to 125.3 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in July, and a 0.1 percent increase in June.

The Conference Board LEI for Australia decreased in August, for the fourth time this year, and as a result, its six-month growth rate has declined slightly into negative territory this month. Meanwhile, the six-month growth rate of the CEI for Australia has moderated in recent months, and is lower compared to six months ago. Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that economic expansion should continue, but with the risk of slower pace 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.

Follow The Conference Board
Twitter| Facebook| LinkedIn

Summary Table of Composite Economic Indexes
			2014				6-month
	Jun		Jul		Aug		Feb to Aug

Leading Economic Index	128.3	p	129.1	p	128.9	p
Percent Change	0.2	p	0.6	p	-0.2	p	-0.3
Diffusion	71.4		85.7		42.9		57.1

Coincident Economic Index	124.9	p	125.0	p	125.3	p
Percent Change	0.1	p	0.1	p	0.2	p	0.6
Diffusion	62.5		75.0		100.0		62.5

n.a. Not available p Preliminary r Revised Indexes equal 100 in 2004 Source: The Conference Board All Rights Reserved