The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. increased 0.5 percent in April, after increasing 0.3 percent in both March and February. Six of the seven components made positive contributions to the index this month. The index now stands at 110.7 (2004=100).
"Despite April's increase in the LEI for the UK, the rise in the index has moderated over the past several months, suggesting that a further acceleration of GDP growth is unlikely in the near term," said Bert Colijn, senior economist at The Conference Board. "However, the ongoing improvements in the labor market are helping to boost consumer confidence, which should allow the UK economy to continue to outperform its Euro Area counterparts in the months ahead."
The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for the U.K., a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.2 percent in April, after increasing 0.2 percent in both March and February. The index now stands at 106.8 (2004 = 100).
The Conference Board LEI for the U.K. aggregates seven economic indicators that measure activity in the U.K., each of which has proven accurate on its own. Aggregating individual indicators into a composite index filters out so-called "noise" to show underlying trends more clearly.