For the third consecutive month, the Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for Japan rose in August, the most recent month for which data are available. Including August's one-tenth percent increase, the index now stands at 99.2 (1990=100).
The strength among the leading economic indicators has become "more widespread in recent months," notes the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group.
During the second quarter of 2005, Japan's GDP growth, adjusted for inflation, was at a 3.3% annual rate, and "the recent behavior of the leading index is consistent with the economy continuing to expand moderately in the near term," says the Conference Board.
