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

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Jul 17, 2013, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, July 17, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia remained unchanged in May at 123.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in April, and a 0.2 percent increase in March.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Australia, a measure of current economic activity, was also unchanged in May at 122.8 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in April, and a 0.1 percent increase in March.

Despite no change in May, the LEI for Australia has been increasing at a modest pace since the beginning of 2013 and its six-month growth has picked up compared to the second half of last year. Meanwhile, the six-month grow rate in the CEI has also accelerated in the first five months of this year, with all its components advancing. Taken together, the recent acceleration in the growth of the LEI and CEI suggests that the current rate of economic expansion is likely to continue, and could even pick up slightly in the coming months.

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
	2013						6-month
	Mar		Apr		May		Nov to May
Leading Economic Index	122.8	p	123.2	p	123.2	p
Percent Change	0.2	p	0.3	p	0.0	p	1.0
Diffusion	71.4		85.7		71.4		85.7

Coincident Economic Index	122.4	p	122.8	p	122.8	p
Percent Change	0.1	p	0.3	p	0.0	p	1.1
Diffusion	75.0		100.0		62.5		100.0

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