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

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Aug 23, 2011, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia decreased 0.8 percent in June to 118.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent decrease in May, and a 0.1 percent increase in April.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Australia, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.1 percent in June to 117.9 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1 percent decrease in May, and a 0.1 percent decrease in April.

The Conference Board LEI for Australia continued falling through June, and its six-month growth rate has declined sharply in the first half of the year. At the same time, The Conference Board CEI for Australia has been essentially flat since the beginning of this year, and its six-month growth rate has also slowed compared to the second half of last year. Taken together, the current behavior of the composite indexes suggests that economic activity will remain weak 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
	2011						6-month
	Apr		May		Jun		Dec to Jun

Leading Economic Index	119.4	p	119.2	p	118.2	p
Percent Change	0.1	p	-0.2	p	-0.8	p	-1.7
Diffusion	50.0		35.7		28.6		28.6

Coincident Economic Index	117.9	p	117.8	p	117.9	p
Percent Change	-0.1	p	-0.1	p	0.1	p	0.1
Diffusion	50.0		37.5		50.0		50.0

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