The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia Increases -- NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia increased 0.5 percent in October to 124.4 (2004 = 100), following a 0.3 percent increase in September, and a 0.1 percent decline in August. At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Australia, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.2 percent in October to 122.8 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in September, and no change in August. The LEI for Australia increased in October for the second consecutive month, continuing its slight upward trend which started earlier this year. Its six-month growth rate has been fairly steady throughout the first three quarters. Meanwhile, the strength in the CEI has been balanced, even though its six-month growth rate moderated from the first half of the year. Taken together, the relatively steady and balanced growth in both the LEI and CEI suggests that the current rate of economic expansion is likely to continue through the first half of 2014. About The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia The composite economic indexes are the key elements in an analytic system designed to signal peaks and troughs in the business cycle. The seven components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for Australia include: Yield Spread, 10 year minus Policy Rate Share Prices, All Ordinaries Money Supply, M3 Rural Goods Exports Sales to Inventory Ratio Gross Operating Surplus, Private Non-Financial Corporations Building Approvals For more information including full press release and technical notes: http://www.conference-board.org/data/bcicountry.cfm?cid=7 Leading Economic Index Coincident Economic Index