Global Leading Indicators

For Release 10:30 AM ET, August 7, 2024

Using the Composite Indexes: The Leading Economic Index (LEI) provides an early indication of significant turning points in the business cycle and where the economy is heading in the near term. The Coincident Economic Index (CEI) provides an indication of the current state of the economy. Additional details are below.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^®(LEI) for South Korea increased by 1.0 percent in June 2024 to 108.7 (2016=100), after being unchanged in May. As a result, the growth rate of LEI over the first half of 2024 grew by 1.0 percent, after growing at a slightly lower rate of 0.9 percent over the second half of last year.

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index^® (CEI) for South Korea ticked up by 0.2 percent to 107.9 (2016=100) in June 2024, reversing the 0.2 percent (downwardly revised) decrease in May. Despite the most recent monthly gain, the CEI contracted by 0.2 percent over the first half of this year, a reversal from an expansion of 0.6 percent over the second half of 2023.

“The South Korea LEI increased substantially in June,” said Malala Lin, Economic Research Associate, at The Conference Board. “Positive contributions from all components, save the neutral contribution from exports, led to the LEI’s gain. Most notably, there was a strong improvement in the inventory-to-shipment index in June, reflecting surges in shipments and sharp declines in inventories for tech products. While the annual growth of the LEI rate slowed a bit between April and June, it remained positive and suggested moderate growth ahead, after the quarter-on-quarter GDP contraction in Q2.” 

The next release is scheduled for Friday, September 6, 2024, at 10:30 A.M. ET.