Spanish Leading Index Signals Further Economic Downturn

Spanish Leading Index Signals Further Economic Downturn


A leading indicator of the Spanish economy declined in July, suggesting that the current contraction in the economy will continue and could even worsen in the near term, data from a survey by the Conference Board showed Friday.
The leading economic index dropped 0.6 percent month-on-month to 101.8 in July, after rising 0.3 percent in June. The index declined for the fourth time in the past five months.
The largest negative contributions to the index came from Spain's contribution to Euro M2, stock prices, and the long-term government bond yield.
At the same time, the coincident economic index, which measures the current situation, decreased 0.2 percent sequentially to 96.9.
In the the six-month period ended July, the leading index declined by 3.3 percent, while the coincident index decreased 0.3 percent, data showed.