Conference Board LEI for Korea Declined

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The Conference Board Leading Economic Index®(LEI) for Korea declined 1.2 percent in August to 107.9 (2010 = 100), following a 0.3 percent decline in July, and a 0.2 percent decline in June.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Korea, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.2 percent in August to 107.9 (2010 = 100), following a 0.4 percent increase in July, and a 0.2 percent increase in June.

The LEI for Korea decreased in August for the fourth consecutive month. As a result, its six-month growth rate has slipped into negative territory. Meanwhile, the CEI for Korea increased for the third consecutive month but its six-month growth rate has moderated. Taken together, the continued downward trend in the LEI and the moderation of the CEI growth points to increased downside risks to Korea's economic expansion in the near term.

About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^® (LEI) for Korea

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.