The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Mexico Increased in March

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May 25, 2011, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, May 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Mexico increased 0.8 percent in March, to 120.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1 percent decline in February, and a 0.6 percent increase in January.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Mexico, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.3 percent in March to 115.1 (2004 = 100), following a 0.5 percent increase in February, and a 0.5 percent increase in January.

The Conference Board LEI for Mexico increased in March, resuming its upward trend. Its six-month growth rate has fluctuated within a narrow range in recent months, although it remains stronger than the third quarter of last year. Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Mexico, a measure of current economic activity, remains on an upward trend, and its six-month growth rate has been relatively steady in recent months. Taken together, the behavior of the composite indexes continues to suggest that economic activity will expand at a moderate pace in the near term.

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

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 six components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for Mexico include:

Industrial Production, Construction Component
Stock Prices
U.S. Refiners' Acquisition Cost of Domestic and Imported Crude Oil
Net Insufficient Inventories
Federal Funds Rate
Real Exchange Rate

For more information including full press release and technical notes: http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=8

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 Indexes

	2011			6-month
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Sep. To Mar
Leading index	119.3 r	119.2	120.2
Percent Change	0.6 r	-0.1 r	0.8	3.8
Diffusion	75.0 r	58.3	58.3	66.7

Coincident Index	114.2 r	114.8 r	115.1
Percent Change	0.5	0.5 r	0.3	2.2
Diffusion	66.7	100.0	66.7	100.0

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