- Australia – Conference Board Leading Index for May is +0.2% m/m prior was -0.1%
- The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index remained unchanged in May
Leading Index
- edged up slightly in May, but has been relatively flat in the past three months. As a result, its six-month growth rate has moderated in recent months compared to the second half of 2013. Meanwhile, the six-month growth rate of the CEI for Australia has been relatively stable.
- Four of the seven components increased in May
- Positive contributors to the index: in order from the largest positive contributor to the smallest — were sales to inventories ratio, yield spread, gross operating surplus, and money supply.
- Building approvals and rural goods exports declined, while share prices remained unchanged in May
Coincident indicators:
- coincident economic index grew 1.4 percent (about a 2.8 percent annual rate) in the six-month period through May 2014, considerably better than its growth of 0.6 percent (about a 1.1 percent annual rate) in the previous six months.
- Two components increased in May (household gross disposable income and industrial production), two declined (retail trade and employed persons)
Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that economic expansion is unlikely to gain momentum in the near term.
