The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area Remains Unchanged in July

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Aug 27, 2012, 04:00 ET

BRUSSELS, Aug. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^®(LEI) for the Euro Area was unchanged in July, standing at 104.8 (2004=100), following decreases of 0.2 percent in June and 0.3 percent in May.

Said Jean-Claude Manini, The Conference Board Senior Economist for Europe: "After falling for three consecutive months, the LEI for the Euro Area remained unchanged in July, as greater business pessimism in both manufacturing and services was offset by moderate improvements in financial indicators. It is questionable, however, whether financial indicators can continue to offset greater weakness in the non-financial sector. The leading indicators suggest that, following the moderate drop in Euro Area GDP during the second quarter, a further contraction in economic activity during the second half of the year is likely."

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index^®(CEI) for the Euro Area, which measures current economic activity, was unchanged in July. The index now stands at 101.9 (2004 = 100) according to preliminary estimates*. The CEI decreased 0.1 percent in June and increased 0.2 percent in May.

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 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)

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

To view The Conference Board calendar for 2012 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.

Summary Table of Composite Indexes
	2012			6-month
	May	Jun	Jul	Jan to Jul

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	105.0 p	104.8 p	104.8 p
Percent Change	-0.3 p	-0.2 p	0.0 p	-0.9 p
Diffusion	42.9	28.6	42.9	28.6

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	102.0 p	101.9 p	101.9 p
Percent Change	0.2 p	-0.1 p	0.0 p	-0.4 p
Diffusion	75.0	37.5	50.0	0.0

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