The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. Decreased

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Jul 16, 2015, 09:30 ET

NEW YORK, July 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. decreased 0.4 percent in May to 112.6 (2010= 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in April, and a 0.2 percent increase in March.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.K., a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.1 percent in May to 105.7 (2010 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in April, and a 0.1 percent decrease in March.

Despite a small decline in May, the LEI for the U.K. has been mostly increasing this year, and its six-month growth rate has improved considerably from six months ago. Meanwhile, the CEI has been increasing modestly in recent months, though its six-month growth rate has moderated. Taken together, the current behavior of the composite indexes suggests that the economy is likely to continue to expand in the near term.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^®(LEI) for the U.K.
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 seven components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^® for the U.K. include:

Order Book Volume, CBI Monthly Enquiry
Volume of Expected Output, CBI Monthly Enquiry
Consumer Confidence
Stock Prices, FTSE all share price index
Yield Spread, 10 years minus Bank Rate
Productivity, Whole Economy Index
Total Gross Operating Surplus of Corporations

For more information including full press release and technical notes:
http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=2

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 Economic Indexes
	2015						6-month
	Mar		Apr		May		Nov to May

Leading Economic Index (LEI)	112.7	p	113.0	p	112.6	p
Percent Change	0.2	p	0.3	p	-0.4	p	0.9	p
Diffusion	78.6		78.6		42.9		71.4

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)	105.4	p	105.6	p	105.7	p
Percent Change	-0.1	p	0.2	p	0.1	p	0.7	p
Diffusion	50.0		87.5		87.5		100.0

n.a. Not available p Preliminary r Revised
Indexes equal 100 in 2010
Source: The Conference Board All Rights Reserved