The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France Increases

NEW YORK, May 22, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France increased 0.4 percent in March to 111.1 (2010 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in February, and a 0.2 percent increase in January.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for France, a measure of current economic activity, was unchanged in March, remaining at 100.3 (2010 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in February, and a 0.1 percent increase in January.

The LEI continued to improve in March, with the majority of its components advancing. As a result, its six-month growth rate has risen slightly above its rate from six months ago. Meanwhile, the CEI had been moderately improving over the same period. Taken together, the behavior of the composite indexes suggests that the current expansion in the economy is likely to continue in the near term.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France 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 France include:

Yield Spread, 10 year minus Day-Day Loan  Stock Price SBF 250 Index  Building Permits, residential  New Unemployment Claims  Industrial New Orders  Production Expectations  Ratio Deflator of Manufacturing Value Added to Unit Labor Cost

For more information including full press release and technical notes:  http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=3

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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SOURCE The Conference Board