The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Japan Decreases

NEW YORK, July 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Japan decreased 1.1 percent in May to 96.4 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent decrease in April, and a 1.1 percent increase in March.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Japan, a measure of current economic activity, was unchanged in May at 98.3 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent decrease in April, and a 0.1 percent increase in March.

The Conference Board LEI for Japan fell in both May and April after increasing sharply in the first quarter of the year, and its six-month growth rate has moderated from the second half of last year. Meanwhile, The Conference Board CEI for Japan was unchanged in May after a small decline in April, and its six-month growth also has slowed from the second half of last year. Taken together, the composite indexes and their components suggest that although the economy will continue expanding, the pace of growth is likely to moderate in the coming months.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Japan
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 ten components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for Japan include:

Operating Profits
Dwelling Units Started
Business Failures
Index of Overtime Worked
Stock Prices (TOPIX)
Six-Month Growth Rate of Labor Productivity
Tankan Business Conditions Survey
Money Supply
Yield Spread
New Orders for Machinery and Construction

For more information including full press release and technical notes: http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=5

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.

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