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

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Aug 24, 2010, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, Aug. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Mexico increased 0.1 percent in June to 117.0 (2004 = 100), following a 1.8 percent decline in May, and a 1.0 percent increase in April.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Mexico, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.3 percent in June to 111.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in May, and a 0.6 percent increase in April.

The Conference Board LEI for Mexico increased slightly in June, following a large decline in May – its first decline in over a year. As a result of the recent weakness in the LEI, its six-month growth rate has fallen sharply from the second half of 2009. Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Mexico has continued to increase, and its six-month growth rate has been fairly stable in recent months. Despite the recent volatility, the behavior of the composite indexes still suggests that economic activity is likely to continue recovering, but at a slower 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.

SOURCE The Conference Board