Leading indicators drop in Britain

The Leading Economic Index for Britain fell 0.5 percent in August, after climbing 0.3 percent in July, the Conference Board said Wednesday. The index fell from 104.4 to 104 with three of the seven components in the index rising in the month. The index assigns a base value of 100 to the year 2004. A number above 100 shows the indicators have risen compared with the average for the index in 2004. Conversely, if the index falls below 100, the indicators are lower than the average for 2004. Conference Board said the Coincident Index for Britain, which measures current economic activity, remained unchanged July to August, stalled at 102.3 following two consecutive months with 0.1 percent drops.