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

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Sep 13, 2012, 09:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Korea was unchanged in July at 119.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.7 percent decline in June, and a 1.1 percent decline in May.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Korea, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.3 percent in July to 118.1 (2004 = 100), following a 0.4 percent decrease in June, and a 0.6 percent increase in May.

The Conference Board LEI for Korea was unchanged in July after having declined in three of the last four months. As a result, its six-month growth rate — which has been slowing at a relatively steady pace since the beginning of the year — has now moved into negative territory. Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Korea increased slightly in July, but its six-month growth rate has also slowed compared to earlier this year. Taken together, the composite indexes and their components suggest that while it's too early to say the economic expansion will end, the risk of a slowdown in the near term is rising.

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 Shipments to Inventories
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
	2012						6-month
	May		Jun		Jul		Jan to Jul

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	120.1	r	119.2	r	119.2
Percent Change	-1.1	r	-0.7	r	0.0		-0.6
Diffusion	42.9	r	42.9	r	57.1		42.9

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	118.2	p	117.7	p	118.1	p
Percent Change	0.6	p	-0.4	p	0.3	p	1.0	p
Diffusion	75.0		25.0		75.0		75.0

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