Australia –
Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) -0.2% in October
- Decreased in October for the third consecutive month and during the six-month period through October, the leading economic index decreased 1.0 percent
- Weaknesses among the leading indicators have become more widespread than the strengths in the recent months
Coincident Economic Index +0.2 %
- All four components increased in October. The increases—in order from the largest positive contributor to the smallest—occurred in retail trade, household gross disposable income*, employed persons, and industrial production*
- The coincident economic index grew 0.8 percent (about a 1.6 percent annual rate) in the six-month period through October 2014, down from 1.4 percent (about a 2.8 percent annual rate) in the previous six months
- Its six-month growth rate has slowed compared to the first half of the year
–
Taken together, the recent behavior of the composite indexes suggests that economic expansion should continue in the near term, but the pace is unlikely to pick up in early 2015