The Conference Board Leading Economic Index for the U.S. Increased in May

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The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI)for theU.S. increased 0.2% in May to 109.5 (2016 = 100), following a 0.4% increase in April, and a 0.4% increase in March.

“While May’s increase in the U.S. LEI was slower than in recent months, the improvements in a majority of its components offset the declines in leading indicators of labor markets and residential construction,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Director of Business Cycles and Growth Research at The Conference Board. “The U.S. LEI still points to solid growth but the current trend, which is moderating, indicates that economic activity is not likely to accelerate.”

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index (CEI) for the U.S. increased 0.2% in May to 103.7 (2016 = 100), following a 0.2% increase in April, and a 0.3% increase in March. 

The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index (LAG) for the U.S. increased 0.5% in May to 105.2 (2016 = 100), following a 0.4% increase in April, and a 0.2% decrease in March.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for the U.S.

The composite economic indexes are the key elements in an analytic system designed to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The leading, coincident, and lagging economic indexes are essentially composite averages of several individual leading, coincident, or lagging 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.