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

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Sep 10, 2013, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Japan was unchanged in July, remaining at 98.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent decline in June, and a 0.9 percent increase in May.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Japan, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.2 percent in July to 96.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent decline in June, and a 0.3 percent increase in May.

The LEI for Japan was unchanged in July, but its six-month growth rate remains near its highest rate in the last three years with widespread strengths among the components. At the same time, the CEI for Japan increased slightly in July, and its six-month growth rate remains higher than for most of 2012. Taken together, although the rate of improvement in both the LEI and CEI seems to have moderated a bit in the last two months, the overall trend and widespread strength in the indexes suggest that the economy is likely to continue expanding in the coming months.

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

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 Economic Indexes

		2013						6-month
		May		Jun		Jul		Jan to Jul

Leading Economic index (LEI)		98.6		98.0	p	98.0	p
	Percent Change	0.9	r	-0.6	p	0.0	p	4.8	p
	Diffusion	80.0		50.0		50.0		100.0

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)		97.1		96.5	p	96.7	p
	Percent Change	0.3		-0.6	p	0.2	p	0.3	p
	Diffusion	62.5		12.5		37.5		75.0

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