The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators for Australia rose two-tenths of a percentage point in January, the most recent month for which data are available. The index now stands at 160.3 (1990=100).
Although the growth rate of the leading index is more than a third lower now than it was for the first nine months of 2005, its recent pattern "suggests that the economy is likely to continue growing moderately in the near term," says the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group.
Australia's economy grew at an annual rate of 1.9% during the final quarter of 2005.
