Global News - Europe

BRUSSELS – The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France declined 0.1 percent in April to 113.7 (2004 = 100), following a 0.4 percent increase in March, and a 0.6 percent increase in February

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for France, a measure of current economic activity, was unchanged in April, remaining at 104.4 (2004 = 100), following no change in March, and a 0.1 percent increase in February.

The Conference Board LEI for France fell slightly in April; however, its six-month growth rate remains in positive territory. At the same time, The Conference Board CEI has been essentially flat in the past year. Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite economic indexes suggests that economic activity in France is unlikely to pick up 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