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

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Jan 16, 2014, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Jan. 16, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Korea was unchanged in November, remaining at 123.5 (2004 = 100), following a 2.2 percent increase in October, and a 0.7 percent increase in September.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Korea, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.2 percent in November to 117.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.7 percent increase in October and a 0.1 percent decline in September.

The LEI for Korea was unchanged after three months of consecutive gains, but its six-month change has strengthened and is at its highest rate since May 2011. In addition, The CEI for Korea edged up in November, and its six-month growth rate has accelerated compared to earlier this year. Taken together, the composite indexes and their components suggest continuing economic growth, which may even pickup slightly, in the near term.

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.

Summary Table of Composite Economic Indexes
	2013			6-month
	Sep	Oct	Nov	May to Nov

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	120.9 r	123.5 r	123.5
Percent Change	0.7 r	2.2 r	0.0	2.2
Diffusion	64.3 r	100.0 r	42.9	71.4

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	116.7 p	117.5 p	117.7 p
Percent Change	-0.1 p	0.7 p	0.2 p	1.5 p
Diffusion	50.0	75.0	62.5	75.0

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