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

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Apr 26, 2012, 11:00 ET

NEW YORK, April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Mexico increased 1.0 percent in February to 122.7 (2004 = 100), following a 1.3 percent increase in January, and a 0.2 percent decline in December.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Mexico, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.9 percent in February to 119.4 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent increase in January, and a 0.5 percent decline in December.

The Conference Board LEI for Mexico has increased in three of the last six months including two large gains in the last two months, and its six-month growth rate has picked up somewhat as a result. Moreover, the index is now above its most recent peak reached in April 2008. Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Mexico continued on the upward trend that started in mid-2009, and its six-month growth rate has also improved. Taken together, the behavior of the composite indexes suggests that economic activity should continue and it could even pick up somewhat 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		2012	6-month
	Dec	Jan	Feb	Aug to Feb
Leading index	120.0	121.5r	122.7
Percent Change	-0.2	1.3r	1.0	2.4
Diffusion	41.7	75.0	58.3	75.0

Coincident Index	117.6	118.3r	119.4
Percent Change	-0.5	0.6r	0.9	2.7
Diffusion	50.0	100.0	100.0	100.0