The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area Increased Again in October

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Nov 27, 2013, 04:00 ET

BRUSSELS, Nov. 27, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^®(LEI) for the Euro Area increased 0.6 percent in October and now stands at 110.4 (2004=100), after increasing 0.5 percent in September and 0.9 percent in August.

"The Leading Economic Index is signaling a continued improvement in the outlook for the Euro Area, but the pace of growth recovery will remain slow," said Bert Colijn, economist at The Conference Board. "Economic sentiment and stock prices are improving and there seems less concern about financial instability. Ongoing concerns seem bigger for businesses than for investors and consumers, as the PMIs for the Euro Area are stalling amid concerns about the pace of the recovery and its possible deflationary consequences."

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index^®(CEI) for the Euro Area, which measures current economic activity, increased 0.1 percent in October, according to preliminary estimates. The index now stands at 101.2 (2004 = 100)*. The CEI decreased 0.1 percent in September and increased 0.2 percent in August.

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 twelve other individual countries, including Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, the U.K., India, Brazil and the U.S.

The seven 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)
EURO STOXX^® Index (source: STOXX Limited)
Money Supply (M2) (source: European Central Bank)
Interest Rate Spread (source: European Central Bank)
Eurozone Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (source: Markit Economics)
Eurozone Service Sector Future Business Activity Expectations Index (source: Markit Economics)

To view The Conference Board calendar for 2013 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 and residential building permits. 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.

NOTE:
To view the webpage, which includes a pdf of the press release and technical notes:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=10

Summary Table of Composite Indexes

	2013			6-month
	Aug	Sep	Oct	Mar to Oct

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	109.2 p	109.7 p	110.4 p
Percent Change	0.9 p	0.5 p	0.6 p	3.8 p
Diffusion	85.7	71.4	71.4	85.7

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	101.2 p	101.1 p	101.2 p
Percent Change	0.2 p	-0.1 p	0.1 p	0.2 p
Diffusion	87.5	12.5	62.5	50.0

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