This China Center members-only QuickNote provides Interpretive Comments on The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for China.

In December the Leading Economic Index for China expanded 0.7 percent from the month before. However, six-month growth in the LEI continued to moderate compared to mid-2011, extending the overall downward trend in the index. December’s slight gain in the LEI for China can be attributed to an increase in seasonal demand in the run-up to the Chinese New Year, the effects of targeted domestic monetary loosening aimed at soothing credit conditions, and relatively stable exports markets.