The Conference Board Leading Economic Index (LEI) for China increased 0.8 percent in March to 230.6 (2004 = 100), following a 1.0 percent increase in February and a 2.1 percent increase in January. Three of the six components contributed positively to the index in March.

"While the China LEI in March continued to increase and its six-month growth rate remained steady, this month's reading supports a continued slowing of the economy," says Andrew Polk, resident economist at The Conference Board China Center inBeijing. "The volatility among LEI indicators suggests that significant downside risks remain, for example, new loans, which were unexpectedly robust in March, and supplier delivery times contributed most positively to the index, while consumer sentiment and real estate contributed largely offsetting drags. The diffusion index, which measures the balance among the rising and falling index components, also showed that risks are tilted towards the downside, highlighting the increasing fragility of China's economy."

The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index (CEI) for China, which measures current economic activity, increased 0.6 percent in March to 219.1 (2004 = 100), following a 4.0 percent increase in February and a 3.0 percent decrease in January. All five components contributed positively to the index in March.

The Conference Board LEI for China aggregates six economic indicators that measure economic activity in China. 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.