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

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May 22, 2015, 09:30 ET

NEW YORK, May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France increased 0.4 percent in March to 111.1 (2010 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in February, and a 0.2 percent increase in January.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for France, a measure of current economic activity, was unchanged in March, remaining at 100.3 (2010 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in February, and a 0.1 percent increase in January.

The LEI continued to improve in March, with the majority of its components advancing. As a result, its six-month growth rate has risen slightly above its rate from six months ago. Meanwhile, the CEI had been moderately improving over the same period. Taken together, the behavior of the composite indexes suggests that the current expansion in the economy is likely to continue in the near term.

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.

Summary Table of Composite Indexes
			2015				6-month
	Jan		Feb		Mar		Sep to Mar

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	110.6	p	110.7	p	111.1	p
Percent Change	0.2	p	0.1	p	0.4	p	0.9	p
Diffusion	57.1		50.0		64.3		85.7

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	100.2	p	100.3	p	100.3	p
Percent Change	0.1	p	0.1	p	0.0	p	0.4	p
Diffusion	87.5		87.5		37.5		75.0

n.a. Not available p Preliminary r Revised
Indexes equal 100 in 2010
Source: The Conference Board All Rights Reserved