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

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Mar 12, 2013, 05:00 ET

NEW YORK, March 12, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Spain increased 0.7 percent in January to 105.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.8 percent increase in December, and a 0.6 percent increase in November.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Spain, a measure of current economic activity, declined 0.4 percent in January to 94.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent decline in December, and a 0.7 percent decline in November.

The LEI for Spain increased for the fifth consecutive month, and as a result, its six-month growth rate continues to pick up. The CEI for Spain, however, has been on a downward trend for more than a year, and its six-month growth rate has grown more negative as a result. Although economic growth is likely to remain in negative territory, the recent relatively widespread improvement in the LEI suggests that the contraction may become shallower in the coming months.

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
	2012		2013	6-month
	Nov	Dec	Jan	Jul to Jan
Leading Economic Index (LEI)	103.7	104.5 r	105.2
Percent Change	0.6 r	0.8 r	0.7	3.1
Diffusion	58.3	83.3	66.7	66.7

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	95.0 r	94.4 p	94.0 p
Percent Change	-0.7 r	-0.6 p	-0.4 p	-3.0 p
Diffusion	0.0	0.0	30.0	0.0

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