Conference Board says leading index rose 0.3 percent in February FRANKFURT, Germany, April 24 (UPI) -- Germany's leading economic indicators rose in February, climbing for the third consecutive month, the Conference Board said Wednesday. Five of seven of the components that make up the composite index rose in the month, the research firm said, including new orders in capital goods, consumer confidence and new residential construction. The composite index for February for Europe's largest economy reached 103.7 after climbing 0.5 percent in December and 0.4 percent in January and 0.3 percent in February. Essentially, the index is a comparison to 2004, which was assigned an average value of 100. Germany's Coincident Index, which measures current business conditions, also rose with positive contributions from the number of employed persons and industrial production and negative impacts from retail trade and manufacturing sales in February. The Coincident Index rose 0.1 percent to 107.1, the Conference Board said.