The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for France rose a tenth of a percentage point in December 2004, the latest month for which data are available. The New York-based business research group's leading index for France now stands at 105.8 (1990=100).
"Despite only a small gain in [its final] two months, the leading index increased at a 2% to 3% annual rate in the second half of 2004, but this is down from 4% to 5% growth in the first half of the year," notes the Conference Board. The leading index's recent behavior suggests that France should experience slightly-above-trend GDP growth "in the near term," says the Conference Board.
