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

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Feb 11, 2015, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Feb. 11, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Japan decreased 0.2 percent in December to 103.2 (2010 = 100), following a 0.6 percent increase in November, and a 0.2 percent increase in October.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Japan, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.6 percent in December to 98.2 (2010 = 100), following a 0.2 percent decline in November, and no change in October.

The Conference Board LEI for Japan has been on an upward trend since August of 2014, with widespread strengths among its components and an improved six-month growth rate. At the same time, the Conference Board CEI for Japan has bounced back from November's decline and its growth is now positive compared to six months ago. Taken together, the recent behavior of both indexes suggests a pickup in economic activity is very likely in the months ahead.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^®(LEI) for Japan

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 ten components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^® for Japan include:

Operating Profits
Dwelling Units Started
Business Failures
Index of Overtime Worked
Stock Prices (TOPIX)
Six-Month Growth Rate of Labor Productivity
Tankan Business Conditions Survey
Money Supply
Yield Spread
New Orders for Machinery and Construction

For more information including full press release and technical notes:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=5

For more information about The Conference Board global business cycle indicators: http://www.conference-board.org/data/bci.cfm

Summary Table of Composite Economic Indexes
			2014				6-month
	Oct		Nov		Dec		Jun to Dec

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	102.8	p	103.4	p	103.2	p
Percent Change	0.2	p	0.6	p	-0.2	p	0.9	p
Diffusion	90.0		80.0		60.0		65.0

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	97.8	p	97.6	p	98.2	p
Percent Change	0.0	p	-0.2	p	0.6	p	0.7	p
Diffusion	75.0		25.0		87.5		75.0

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

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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