What does the US Leading Economic Index measure?

The United States Leading Economic Index measures several indicators that tend to shift direction before the broader economy, designed to signal future turning points in the business cycle.

How frequently is the LEI published and how far back does historical data go?

It is published monthly by The Conference Board and the OECD, with historical data series beginning in 1947.

What specific indicators and breakdowns are included in the table?

The table includes The Conference Board leading, coincident, and lagging indexes with their diffusion indexes, base-year variations, and individual component series alongside the OECD Composite Leading Indicator.

How does the LEI differ from the Coincident Economic Index?

While the United States Leading Economic Index anticipates future economic direction, the Coincident Economic Index measures current overall economic activity such as employment, personal income, and manufacturing output.

US Leading Economic Index (LEI)

Name: US Leading Economic Index (LEI)
Creator: OECD CLI; The Conference Board (LEI/CEI/LAG, via PR Newswire press releases)
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

US monthly leading economic index and composite indicators from The Conference Board and OECD.

Latest reading

LEI Index (Conference Board, 2016 = 100) stood at 99.5 in Aug 2026. That is −0.1% from Jul 2026 and +0.9% from a year earlier. The series on this page is monthly and runs from Oct 2017 to Aug 2026. Source: OECD CLI; The Conference Board (LEI/CEI/LAG, via PR Newswire press releases).

Latest: 99.5; Aug 2026
vs previous period: −0.1%; Jul 2026
vs a year earlier: +0.9%

About this data

US monthly leading economic index and composite indicators from The Conference Board and OECD. The table includes leading, coincident, and lagging indexes, diffusion indexes, and component series starting from 1947. Published by The Conference Board and the OECD, it tracks early signals of business cycle turning points in the United States economy.

Frequently asked questions

What does the US Leading Economic Index measure?: The United States Leading Economic Index measures several indicators that tend to shift direction before the broader economy, designed to signal future turning points in the business cycle.
How frequently is the LEI published and how far back does historical data go?: It is published monthly by The Conference Board and the OECD, with historical data series beginning in 1947.
What specific indicators and breakdowns are included in the table?: The table includes The Conference Board leading, coincident, and lagging indexes with their diffusion indexes, base-year variations, and individual component series alongside the OECD Composite Leading Indicator.
How does the LEI differ from the Coincident Economic Index?: While the United States Leading Economic Index anticipates future economic direction, the Coincident Economic Index measures current overall economic activity such as employment, personal income, and manufacturing output.

Indicator	08-2026	07-2026	06-2026	05-2026	04-2026	03-2026	02-2026	01-2026	12-2025	11-2025	10-2025	09-2025	08-2025	07-2025	06-2025	05-2025	04-2025	03-2025	02-2025	01-2025	12-2024	11-2024	10-2024	09-2024	08-2024	07-2024	06-2024	05-2024	04-2024	03-2024	02-2024	01-2024	12-2023	11-2023	10-2023	09-2023	08-2023
LEI Index (Conference Board, 2016 = 100)1	99.5	99.6	99.4	99.4	99.2	99	97.9	97.6	97.6	97.8	98.1	98.3	98.6	98.9	98.8	99.1	99.1	100.5	101.2	101.4	101.6	101.7	101.3	99.8	100.2	100.5	101	101.2	101.7	102.3	102.7	102.5	103.1	103.3	103.7	104.5	105.4
LEI diffusion index	55	75	60	55	60	40	70	65	50	60	50	35	40	70	45	50	0	35	40	45	40	60	20	55	45	30	45	40	30	40	70	20	45	40	15	10	40
CEI Index (Conference Board, 2016 = 100)1	114.9	114.8	114.6	114.4	114.2	114.3	115.3	115.2	115	114.8	114.7	114.8	115	115	114.7	114.7	114.8	114.8	114.4	114	114.2	113.7	113.5	112.8	112.8	112.6	112.5	112.3	111.8	111.9	111.9	111.6	112	111.7	111.3	111	110.6
CEI diffusion index	100	87.5	87.5	75	50	37.5	50	87.5	62.5	75	37.5	75	50	87.5	62.5	37.5	62.5	75	87.5	75	100	75	37.5	62.5	75	75	100	100	50	50	75	50	75	100	50	100	87.5
LAG Index (Conference Board, 2016 = 100)1	120.6	120.4	120.2	120.2	120.6	120	119.9	119.8	119.6	119.8	119.6	119.7	119.5	119.4	119.9	119.9	119.4	118.8	119	118.8	118.2	118.7	118.2	118.6	119.2	119.3	119.6	119.5	119.6	119.1	119	118.7	118	118.6	118	118.3	118.4
LAG diffusion index	71.4	57.1	50	21.4	64.3	64.3	57.1	42.9	35.7	28.6	35.7	35.7	50	21.4	42.9	64.3	42.9	21.4	57.1	57.1	14.3	42.9	42.9	0	21.4	35.7	35.7	28.6	57.1	42.9	42.9	50	21.4	64.3	50	35.7	42.9
Composite Leading Indicator CLI (OECD)1	100.96	100.89	100.8	100.71	100.61	100.51	100.39	100.24	100.07	99.91	99.78	99.69	99.62	99.58	99.54	99.52	99.56	99.64	99.74	99.8	99.8	99.73	99.62	99.5	99.4	99.34	99.33	99.34	99.34	99.3	99.21	99.11	99	98.91	98.87	98.84	98.81
Standardised CLI7	100.87	100.81	100.73	100.64	100.56	100.47	100.36	100.22	100.06	99.92	99.8	99.72	99.66	99.62	99.58	99.57	99.6	99.68	99.77	99.82	99.82	99.76	99.66	99.55	99.46	99.41	99.39	99.4	99.4	99.36	99.29	99.19	99.09	99.01	98.97	98.95	98.92
New orders		100.52	100.51	100.47	100.38	100.24	100.12	100.02	99.96	99.9	99.83	99.78	99.73	99.69	99.65	99.6	99.54	99.47	99.37	99.28	99.23	99.21	99.23	99.25	99.27	99.28	99.29	99.34	99.42	99.54	99.69	99.89	100.11	100.29	100.43	100.56	100.66
Average weekly hours		101.82	101.75	101.64	101.51	101.33	101.12	100.86	100.59	100.36	100.15	100	99.91	99.86	99.82	99.8	99.76	99.72	99.63	99.51	99.39	99.29	99.2	99.15	99.12	99.07	99.01	98.89	98.72	98.54	98.39	98.31	98.35	98.5	98.69	98.86	98.97
Residential construction		99.77	99.84	99.91	99.96	100	100.02	100.02	100.01	99.99	99.97	99.95	99.93	99.92	99.91	99.9	99.88	99.87	99.84	99.81	99.77	99.73	99.68	99.64	99.61	99.58	99.57	99.56	99.57	99.58	99.6	99.61	99.62	99.63	99.62	99.61	99.59
Stock prices	100.81	100.7	100.6	100.52	100.48	100.46	100.45	100.42	100.37	100.29	100.2	100.1	99.98	99.86	99.75	99.67	99.67	99.75	99.88	100.01	100.12	100.19	100.2	100.15	100.07	99.97	99.88	99.79	99.69	99.55	99.38	99.18	98.99	98.84	98.75	98.74	98.78
Interest rate spread	101.01	100.96	100.89	100.82	100.74	100.65	100.55	100.45	100.35	100.23	100.14	100.07	100.04	100.04	100.06	100.09	100.1	100.11	100.07	99.98	99.81	99.57	99.31	99.07	98.89	98.8	98.77	98.77	98.77	98.75	98.74	98.74	98.76	98.78	98.76	98.69	98.58
Business tendency survey	100.98	100.95	100.88	100.79	100.67	100.52	100.36	100.17	99.98	99.83	99.74	99.68	99.65	99.66	99.68	99.72	99.76	99.8	99.82	99.79	99.72	99.63	99.53	99.47	99.44	99.44	99.47	99.51	99.52	99.51	99.47	99.41	99.33	99.25	99.19	99.14	99.08
Consumer confidence	99.79	99.67	99.53	99.45	99.48	99.57	99.65	99.67	99.65	99.64	99.67	99.73	99.79	99.83	99.82	99.85	100.04	100.42	100.92	101.4	101.73	101.89	101.89	101.81	101.72	101.71	101.8	101.97	102.14	102.19	102.04	101.71	101.24	100.77	100.41	100.16	99.96
Reference series: GDP (standardised)1				99.75	99.8	99.86	99.91	99.97	100.04	100.1	100.16	100.2	100.21	100.18	100.12	100.05	100	99.98	100	100.06	100.16	100.26	100.35	100.41	100.44	100.44	100.41	100.37	100.33	100.3	100.3	100.31	100.33	100.34	100.32	100.28	100.21
GDP to trend				99.67	99.73	99.79	99.86	99.93	100	100.07	100.14	100.18	100.19	100.16	100.09	100.02	99.96	99.93	99.95	100.03	100.14	100.26	100.36	100.43	100.46	100.46	100.42	100.38	100.34	100.3	100.3	100.31	100.33	100.34	100.32	100.27	100.2