The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area Increases in December

BRUSSELS, Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire/ —

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The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area increased in December, rising to 103.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1 percent decrease in November and a 0.2 percent decrease in October.

Said Jean-Claude Manini, The Conference Board Senior Economist for Europe: “The LEI for the Euro Area rose moderately in December – its first increase in ten months. In part, this improvement can be attributed to a modest decrease in the level of stress on financial markets following the December EU summit and the ECB intervention. Business confidence improved too, but it remained in negative territory, suggesting that economic activity should continue to contract in the very near term. Overall, the balance of risks has improved marginally, increasing the probability that the Euro Area may manage to muddle through the debt crisis, at least for now.”

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the Euro Area, which measures current economic activity, remained unchanged in December. The index stands at 102.7 (2004 = 100) according to preliminary estimates*. The CEI decreased 0.1 percent in both November and October.

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)

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.

                                          Summary Table of Composite Indexes
                                                            2011   6-month
                                                            ----
                                       Oct       Nov       Dec      Jun to
                                                                      Dec
    Leading
     Economic
     Index (LEI)                       102.8  p            102.7  p          103.0 p
    Percent
     Change                             -0.2  p             -0.1  p            0.3 p -2.6 p
    Diffusion                           43.8                31.3              75.0   25.0

    Coincident
     Economic
     Index (CEI)                       102.8  p            102.7  p          102.7 p
    Percent
     Change                             -0.1  p             -0.1  p            0.0 p -0.3 p
    Diffusion                           62.5                25.0              62.5   25.0

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

SOURCE The Conference Board