The Conference Board's index of leading economic indicators increased two-tenths of a percentage point it May, the most recent month for which new data are available, and a previously reported small decline in April was revised to a one-tenth percent gain. The leading index now stands at 124.4 (1990=100).
During the six months through May, the leading index increased 1.2 percentage points, although South Korea's inflation-adjusted GDP growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.4% during 2005's first three months. "The behavior of the leading index in recent months suggests that economic growth should continue in the near term, perhaps slightly above the first quarter's sluggish rate," says the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group.
