The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. Remained Unchanged in June

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Aug 11, 2011, 05:00 ET

BRUSSELS, Aug. 11, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. remained unchanged in June, after increasing 0.6 percent in May and increasing 0.3 percent in April. Three of the seven components made positive contributions to the index in June. The index stands at 104.1 (2004=100).

Said Jean-Claude Manini, The Conference Board Senior Economist for Europe: "The LEI for the United Kingdom was flat in June as the weaknesses among the leading indicators expanded. The rising caution among businesses is a particular concern, a trend that may weigh on already weak and volatile consumer confidence. The leading indicators suggest subdued growth in the near term. The ongoing debt crisis and the global slowdown will continue to feed a wait-and-see attitude, increasing the downside risks in an already sluggish growth environment."

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.K., a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.1 percent in June, after remaining unchanged in May and increasing 0.1 percent in April. The index now stands at 102.7 (2004 = 100).

The Conference Board LEI for the U.K. aggregates seven economic indicators that measure activity in the U.K., each of which has proven accurate on its own. Aggregating individual indicators into a composite index filters out so-called "noise" to show underlying trends more clearly.

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

Order Book Volume (source: Confederation of British Industry)

Volume of Expected Output (source: Confederation of British Industry)

Consumer Confidence Indicator (source: European Commission)

FTSE All-Share Index (source: FTSE Group)

Yield Spread (source: Bank of England)

Productivity, Whole Economy (Office for National Statistics)

Total Gross Operating Surplus of Corporations (Office for National Statistics)

Plotted back to 1970, this index has successfully signaled turning points in the U.K. business cycles. The Conference Board currently produces leading economic indexes for the Euro Area and nine other countries, including Australia, China, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain and the U.S.

To view The Conference Board calendar of 2011 indicator releases:

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

For more information: http://www.conference-board.org/data/bci.cfm

For full press release: http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=2

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
		2011						6-month
		Apr		May		Jun		Dec to Jun

Leading Economic Index (LEI)		103.5	p	104.1	p	104.1	p
	Percent Change	0.3	p	0.6	p	0.0	p	1.9	p
	Diffusion	57.1		42.9		28.6		42.9

Coincident Economic Index (CEI)		102.6	p	102.6	p	102.7	p
	Percent Change	0.1	p	0.0	p	0.1	p	0.2	p
	Diffusion	62.5		75.0		87.5		50.0


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