Korea's composite leading indicator of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development last month topped all others in the so-called club of rich countries. Shown are containers piled high at Pier 3 of Busan New Port. (Busan Port Authority)

By Lee Jihae

The country's composite leading indicator of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in August rose for the 19th straight month to top the category.

The OECD on Sept. 14 released data saying Korea's figure was 102.87 last month, its highest level in six years and three months and No. 1 among the 17 countries for which individual statistics were available.

Korea thus topped the index for the first time since May 2020. As recently as September last year, the nation was nearly at the bottom of the list at 16th out of the 17 countries but its ranking recently shot up to third in February and overtook Mexico for second in July.

Last month, Korea surpassed for the top spot Brazil, which was No. 1 for eight consecutive months.

Mexico last month ranked second with 102.65, followed by Brazil (102.63), Canada (101.99) and India (101.60).

The CLI is a predictor of economic trends six to nine months ahead. A figure above the baseline of 100 suggests that gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to exceed its long-term trend while one below indicates a subpar performance.

The index is based on six indicators: manufacturing business outlook, share prices, inventories of capital goods manufacturing, inventory-to-shipments ratio, interest rate spread, or the difference between long- and short-term interest rates, and terms of trade.

jihlee08@korea.kr