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

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Mar 16, 2012, 05:00 ET

NEW YORK, March 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Spain increased 0.5 percent in January to 105.3 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in December, and a 1.0 percent decline in November.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Spain, a measure of current economic activity, decreased 0.2 in January to 98.6 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent decrease in December, and a 0.5 percent decrease in November.

The Conference Board LEI for Spain increased again this month, after falling between February and November of last year. Its six-month growth rate improved this month, but remains negative. Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Spain has been trending downward since April 2011, and its six-month growth also remains negative. Taken together, although the past two increases in the LEI could represent a stabilization in its downward trend, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that the current contraction in economic activity will continue in the near term.

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

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 Spain include:

Capital Equipment Component of Industrial Production
Contribution to Euro M2
Stock Price Index
Long term Government Bond Yield
Order Books Survey
Job Placings

For more information including full press release and technical notes:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=9

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
	Nov		Dec		Jan		Jul to Jan
Leading Economic Index (LEI)	104.5		104.8		105.3
Percent Change	-1.0		0.3		0.5		-1.0
Diffusion	16.7		50.0		66.7		33.3

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	99.1	r	98.8	p	98.6	p
Percent Change	-0.5	r	-0.3	p	-0.2	p	-1.7	p
Diffusion	20.0		0.0		40.0		0.0

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