The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area Declined in March

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Apr 29, 2011, 04:00 ET

BRUSSELS, April 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area declined 0.5 percent in March to 108.3 (2004 = 100), following a 0.9 percent increase in February and a 0.7 percent increase in January.

Said Jean-Claude Manini, The Conference Board Senior Economist for Europe: "Widespread declines in the leading indicators led to the first drop in The Conference Board LEI for the Euro Area in five months. In March, the only positive contribution to the index came from the interest rate spread, but it did not offset the weaknesses in the other components. Current economic conditions remain on a more moderate trend, and accelerating inflation and austerity measures will weigh on domestic demand and dampen growth through the remainder of 2011."

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the Euro Area, which measures current economic activity, remained unchanged in March. The index stands at 103.1 (2004 = 100) according to preliminary estimates*. The CEI increased 0.1 percent in February, following a 0.1 percent increase in January.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for the Euro Area was launched in January 2009. Plotted back to 1987, this index has successfully signaled turning points in the business cycle of the bloc of countries that now constitute the Euro Area, defined by the common currency zone.

The Conference Board currently produces leading economic indexes for ten other individual countries, including Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the U.K. and the U.S.

The eight components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for the Euro Area include:

Economic Sentiment Index (source: European Commission DG-ECFIN)
Index of Residential Building Permits Granted (source: Eurostat)
Index of Capital Goods New Orders (source: Eurostat)
EURO STOXX® Index (source: STOXX Limited)
Money Supply (M2) (source: European Central Bank)
Interest Rate Spread (source: ECB)
Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (source: Markit Economics)
Eurozone Service Sector Future Business Activity Expectations Index (source: Markit Economics)

For more information, including full press release and technical notes:

http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=10

To view The Conference Board calendar of 2011 indicator releases:

http://www.conference-board.org/data/

* Series in The Conference Board LEI for the Euro Area that are based on The Conference Board estimates are real money supply, residential building permits, and new orders of capital goods. All series in The Conference Board CEI for the Euro Area are based on The Conference Board estimates (employment, industrial production, retail trade, and manufacturing turnover).

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is a global, 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 Economic Index (LEI)	107.8 p	108.8 p	108.3 p
Percent Change	0.7 p	0.9 p	-0.5 p	2.5 p
Diffusion	50.0	81.3	6.3	62.5

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	103.0 p	103.1 p	103.1 p
Percent Change	0.1 p	0.1 p	0.0 p	0.7 p
Diffusion	87.5	62.5	50.0	87.5

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