The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area Declined in March
BRUSSELS, April 29, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the Euro Area decreased 0.4 percent in March and now stands at 105.8 (2004=100), after increasing 0.1 percent in February and increasing 1.4 percent in January.
"The decline in the LEI suggests that the Euro Area economy remains very weak and a recovery in the coming months continues to be unlikely," says Bert Colijn, Economist for Europe at The Conference Board. "Business and consumer confidence have dropped as a result of political instability in Italy, the Cypriot bailout process, and increased concerns about the negative growth impact of the austerity programs in various countries. However, financial stress remains low which suggests that stability in Europe's financial system is still more solid than a year ago."
The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the Euro Area, which measures current economic activity, decreased 0.1 percent in March, according to preliminary estimates. The index now stands at 101.0 (2004 = 100)*. The CEI was unchanged in February and decreased 0.1 percent in January.
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)
To view The Conference Board calendar for 2013 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.
Follow The Conference Board
Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn
| Summary Table of Composite Indexes |
||||||||||||||||
| 2013 |
6-month |
|||||||||||||||
| Jan |
Feb |
Mar |
Sep to Mar |
|||||||||||||
| Leading Economic Index (LEI) |
106.1 |
p |
106.2 |
p |
105.8 |
p |
||||||||||
| Percent Change |
1.4 |
p |
0.1 |
p |
-0.4 |
p |
1.1 |
p |
||||||||
| Diffusion |
100.0 |
50.0 |
50.0 |
85.7 |
||||||||||||
| Coincident Economic Index (CEI) |
101.1 |
p |
101.1 |
p |
101.0 |
p |
||||||||||
| Percent Change |
-0.1 |
p |
0.0 |
p |
-0.1 |
p |
-0.6 |
p |
||||||||
| Diffusion |
25.0 |
50.0 |
62.5 |
0.0 |
||||||||||||
| n.a. Not available p Preliminary r Revised |
||||||||||||||||
| Indexes equal 100 in 2004 |
||||||||||||||||
| Source: The Conference Board All Rights Reserved |
||||||||||||||||
| © The Conference Board 2013. All data contained in this table are protected by United States and international copyright laws. The data displayed are provided for informational purposes only and may only be accessed, reviewed, and/or used in accordance with, and the permission of, The Conference Board consistent with a subscriber or license agreement and the Terms of Use displayed on our website at www.conference-board.org. The data and analysis contained herein may not be used, redistributed, published, or posted by any means without express written permission from The Conference Board. COPYRIGHT TERMS OF USE. All material in this data table, this press release, and on Our Sites are protected by United States and international copyright laws. You must abide by all copyright notices and restrictions contained in Our Sites. You may not reproduce, distribute (in any form including over any local area or other network or service), display, perform, create derivative works of, sell, license, extract for use in a database, or otherwise use any materials (including computer programs and other code) in this data table, this press release, and on Our Sites (collectively, "Site Material"), except that you may download Site Material in the form of one machine readable copy that you will use only for personal, noncommercial purposes, and only if you do not alter Site Material or remove any trademark, copyright or other notice displayed on the Site Material. If you are a subscriber to any of the services offered on Our Sites, you may be permitted to use Site Material, according to the terms of your subscription agreement. TRADEMARKS. "THE CONFERENCE BOARD", the TORCH LOGO, "THE CONFERENCE BOARD LEADING ECONOMIC INDEX", "THE CONFERENCE BOARD COINCIDENT ECONOMIC INDEX", "THE CONFERENCE BOARD LAGGING ECONOMIC INDEX", and any other logos, indicia and trademarks featured in this data table, this press release, or on Our Sites are trademarks owned by The Conference Board, Inc. in the United States and other countries ("Our Trademarks"). You may not use Our Trademarks in connection with any product or service that does not belong to us or in any manner that is likely to cause confusion among users about whether The Conference Board is the source, sponsor, or endorser of the product or service, nor in any manner that disparages or discredits us. Violators of these rights will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law. Nothing herein shall restrict the use of the information by news journalists using the information in a legitimate news publication or periodical. |
SOURCE The Conference Board
Share this article