The Conference Board Leading Economic Index(LEI) forChinaincreased 0.4 percent in September to 160.2 (2004 = 100), following a 0.6 percent increase in both August and July. Four of the six components contributed positively to the index in September.

Says The Conference Board China Center resident economistAndrew Polk: "Economic activity inChinaremains robust, but that pace of growth should continue to ease in the near term, according to the China LEI in September. Policy tightening, particularly in real estate, has persisted in cooling the main drivers to growth throughout this year – property investment and bank loans – and weakness in developed markets continues to weigh on external demand forChina, adding another drag to growth."

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index(CEI) forChina, which measures current economic activity, increased 0.6 percent in September to 207.5 (2004 = 100), following a 0.4 percent increase in August and a 0.3 percent increase in July. All five components contributed positively to the index in September.

The Conference Board LEI forChinaaggregates six economic indicators that measure economic activity inChina. Each of the LEI components has proven accurate on its own. Aggregating individual indicators into a composite index filters out so-called "noise" to show underlying trends more clearly.