The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France Declines

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Apr 18, 2014, 04:00 ET

BRUSSELS, April 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France declined 0.3 percent in February to 117.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.4 percent increase in January, and a 0.3 percent increase in December.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for France, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.1 percent in February to 103.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1 percent decline in January and a 0.1 percent increase in December.

February's decline in the LEI resulted in its six-month growth rate slowing, but it is still moderately better compared to six months ago. Meanwhile, the CEI has been relatively flat for two years, but its six-month growth rate turned slightly positive in recent months. Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that France's economy is likely to moderately improve through the first half of 2014.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^®(LEI) for France
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 France include:

Yield Spread, 10 year minus Day-Day Loan
Stock Price SBF 250 Index
Building Permits, residential
New Unemployment Claims
Industrial New Orders
Production Expectations
Ratio Deflator of Manufacturing Value Added to Unit Labor Cost

For more information including full press release and technical notes:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=3

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.

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Summary Table of Composite Indexes
	2013		2014				6-month
	Dec		Jan		Feb		Aug to Feb

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	117.5	p	118.0	p	117.7	p
Percent Change	0.3	p	0.4	p	-0.3	p	1.4	p
Diffusion	71.4		71.4		35.7		64.3

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	103.7	p	103.6	p	103.7	p
Percent Change	0.1	p	-0.1	p	0.1	p	0.4	p
Diffusion	62.5		37.5		87.5		75.0

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