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

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Jul 24, 2012, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia increased 0.4 percent in May to 123.6 (2004 = 100), following a 1.3 percent decline in April, and a 0.1 percent decline in March.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Australia, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.3 percent in May to 120.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in April, and a 0.4 percent increase in March.

The Conference Board LEI for Australia increased in May after declining for three months in a row. However, its six-month change remains negative. Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Australia has been on a slightly rising trend for the past year. Taken together, the recent behavior in the composite indexes suggests that despite the rapid pace of economic expansion in the first quarter, the rate of growth is likely to moderate 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
	Mar		2012 Apr		May		6-month Nov to May

Leading Economic Index	124.7	p	123.1	p	123.6	p
Percent Change	-0.1	p	-1.3	p	0.4	p	-1.1
Diffusion	57.1		50.0		50.0		42.9

Coincident Economic Index	120.0	p	120.3	p	120.7	p
Percent Change	0.4	p	0.2	p	0.3	p	1.4
Diffusion	75.0		100.0		100.0		100.0

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