DETROIT, April 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Detroit Area Business Activity Index increased 1 point to a level of 112. The February reading is up 1 point from a year ago and equal to the average for 2005.

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"So far, I am encouraged to see how well the regional economy has weathered the job and income losses centered in the auto manufacturing sector," said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank. "Mild winter weather and the Super Bowl no doubt helped to support the economy early in 2006. As those effects fade, I would expect to see some fall off in activity over the next several months."

Comerica Bank compiles the Detroit Area Business Activity Index (DABAI) monthly from eight different measures of regional activity which are seasonally adjusted, corrected for inflation, and expressed as an index, with 1996 as base year equal to 100. The Economics Department of Comerica Bank has calculated the DABAI monthly since 1957; depicting Metro-Detroit's economy over seven full swings of the U.S. business cycle.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Detroit, strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people to be successful.

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SOURCE: Comerica Bank

CONTACT: Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist of
Comerica Bank, +1-734-930-2401, +1-800-895-7708

Web site: http://www.comerica.com/