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

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May 12, 2014, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Korea increased 0.7 percent in March to 122.0 (2004 = 100), following no change in February, and a 1.0 percent decline in January.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Korea, a measure of current economic activity, declined 0.4 percent in March to 118.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in February and a 0.8 percent increase in January.

The LEI for Korea has shown month-to-month volatility, but overall the index has been relatively flat over past two years. Its six-month change remains in positive territory, but has eased slightly in recent months. Meanwhile, The CEI for Korea declined in March, but its six-month growth rate has improved compared to the previous six months. Taken together, the restrained growth in both the LEI and CEI continues to suggest that the rate of economic growth is unlikely to improve in the months ahead.

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

Stock Prices
Value of Machinery Orders
Letter of Credit Arrivals
Index of Inventories to Shipments
Export FOB
Yield of Government Public Bonds
Private Construction Orders

For more information including full press release and technical notes:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=6

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
	2014						6-month
	Jan		Feb		Mar		Sep to Mar

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	121.2	r	121.2		122.0
Percent Change	-1.0	r	0.0	r	0.7		1.3
Diffusion	21.4	r	42.9	r	64.3		71.4

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	118.2	p	118.5	p	118.0	p
Percent Change	0.8	p	0.3	p	-0.4	p	1.4	p
Diffusion	75.0		75.0		50.0		100.0

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