A–Z of economic indicators

Testing a set of rules against historical price data to see how it would have performed.

A monthly measure of changes in consumer prices in Baden-Württemberg, often watched as an early regional signal for German inflation.

Annual change in Baden-Württemberg's state consumer price index, published by the Statistisches Landesamt Baden-Württemberg.

Bahrain’s GDP growth rate shows the annual change in the country’s economic output and is used to assess broad economic momentum.

Bahrain's Consumer Price Index measures changes in the prices paid by households for a basket of consumer goods and services. Its year-on-year change is commonly described as the inflation rate.

A weekly measure of active U.S. oil-directed drilling rigs published by Baker Hughes and used as a timely gauge of upstream oil-sector activity.

A weekly measure of active oil-directed drilling rigs in the United States.

A weekly Baker Hughes measure of active U.S. drilling rigs, covering oil, gas and miscellaneous rigs.

Bangladesh’s CPI inflation rate tracks changes in household consumer prices and is a key gauge of domestic price pressure.

A scheduled public speech by Bank of England MPC member Sir Dave Ramsden.

A monthly measure of changes in consumer prices paid by households in Bavaria.

A monthly measure of annual consumer-price inflation in Bavaria, published as an early regional German inflation indicator.

A monthly indicator of a quoted UK mortgage borrowing rate.

The detailed minutes from Brazil’s Monetary Policy Committee, explaining the reasoning behind the Selic rate decision and the committee’s assessment of inflation and economic risks.

A weekly Banco Central do Brasil publication summarizing market expectations for Brazil’s inflation, activity, exchange rate and policy-rate outlook.

A candle that closes below its open — sellers finished the period in control.

Belarus Industrial Production tracks changes in the volume of output generated by the country’s industrial sector, including manufacturing, mining and utilities-related activities.

Belarus CPI inflation year-over-year tracks the annual change in consumer prices paid by households and is a key gauge of domestic price pressure.

An auction of Belgium's long-term government bond maturing in 2045.

A monthly measure of changes in prices paid by Belgian households, with the MoM reading showing the change from the previous month.

An auction through which Belgium issues OLO linear bonds, its benchmark-style sovereign debt instruments.

A maturity-specific auction of Belgium's government bond due in 2036.

Annual change in Belgium's national headline consumer price index, published by Statbel.

The Belgium Medium Treasury Certificate Auction is a sale of short-term Belgian government bills in the middle maturity bucket of the Treasury Certificate calendar.

A scheduled sale of Belgium's shortest-dated Treasury Certificates, showing investor demand and the yield accepted on short-term government borrowing.

The Bank of Canada’s scheduled announcement of its target for the overnight rate and the reasoning behind its monetary policy decision.

A quarterly survey asking professional market participants what they expect for the Canadian economy, interest rates and financial markets.

A briefing in which Bank of Canada officials explain a policy decision and take questions after the rate announcement.

A monthly measure of the net unsecured borrowing of UK households.

A speech or set of public remarks by the Governor of the Bank of England, which can offer insight into the UK central bank’s assessment of the economy and policy risks.

A speech by the Governor of the Bank of England that may provide insight into the UK's economic outlook and monetary-policy thinking.

A Bank of England communication event featuring Monetary Policy Committee member Catherine L. Mann.

A public speech by Bank of Japan Policy Board member Hajime Takata that may provide context on Japan's economy, inflation, and monetary-policy thinking.

A Bank of Japan Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino speech that may provide context on Japan's economy, inflation, and monetary-policy thinking.

An explanation of the Bank of Japan's policy decision and why its communication matters to currency and rates markets.

Bank of Japan JGB purchases are central-bank operations in which the BoJ buys Japanese government bonds to implement policy and influence liquidity conditions in the bond market.

The official minutes of Bank of Japan monetary policy meetings, used to understand the Policy Board’s discussion and policy reasoning.

The Bank of Japan's post-meeting announcement of its monetary-policy decisions and policy assessment.

The Bank of Japan's quarterly assessment and projections for Japan's economic activity and prices.

A post-meeting briefing in which the Bank of Japan Governor explains policy decisions and discusses the outlook for Japan's economy and prices.

Bolivian Independence Day is a national public holiday observed on August 6, marking Bolivia’s declaration of independence in 1825.

Bollinger Bands are a volatility indicator made up of a moving average with upper and lower bands that expand and contract as market volatility changes. They help traders judge whether price is becoming stretched, identify volatility changes, and support both trend-following and mean reversion analysis.

An overview of Bosnia and Herzegovina's headline consumer inflation measure and its year-on-year reading.

The Consumer Price Index measures changes in the prices households pay for a basket of everyday goods and services.

Botswana’s month-over-month inflation rate tracks the monthly change in consumer prices using the national Consumer Price Index.

Botswana’s CPI annual inflation rate measures the year-over-year change in consumer prices for goods and services purchased by households.

The Bank of Botswana's Monetary Policy Committee decision on the Monetary Policy Rate (MoPR).

A monthly measure of how consumer prices in Brandenburg have changed compared with the same month a year earlier.

A monthly measure of changes in consumer prices paid by households in Brandenburg, Germany.

Brazil vehicle production (Anfavea) — monthly change

Brazil vehicle registrations (Fenabrave) — monthly change

Monthly change in Brazil's total credit balance, published by the Central Bank of Brazil.

Brazil Current Account shows the country’s balance with the rest of the world for trade, services, income and transfers. A deficit means Brazil paid more abroad on these items than it received during the period.

Brazil Foreign Direct Investment tracks net direct investment flows from foreign investors into Brazil. It covers longer-term investment links such as equity stakes, reinvested earnings and intercompany lending.

Weekly net total of Brazil's contracted foreign-exchange flows, combining the commercial and financial channels.

A monthly Banco Central do Brasil indicator that tracks Brazilian economic activity and is commonly used as a timely proxy for GDP trends.

Brazil IGP-10 Inflation MoM tracks the monthly change in FGV IBRE's broad General Price Index - 10, combining producer, consumer and construction-cost prices.

Brazil IPCA-15 is an early monthly reading of consumer price inflation in Brazil. It tracks how prices paid by households change during a mid-month collection window rather than the full calendar month.

A monthly meeting of Brazil’s National Monetary Council, which sets broad monetary, credit and financial-system policy guidelines.

Brazil Producer Price Index (IPP) — monthly change

A monthly private-sector gauge of annual growth in UK retail sales, produced by the British Retail Consortium with KPMG.

Measures how prices are changing for commonly purchased food and non-food products in UK shops.

A breakout occurs when price moves decisively beyond a defined level such as a range high, trendline or consolidation boundary. It signals that the balance between buyers and sellers has shifted and can start a sustained move. Breakouts also fail often, so traders look for confirmation through follow-through, expanding range and a successful retest of the broken level.

United States Building Permits track authorizations for new privately owned residential housing units and are used as a forward-looking gauge of future homebuilding activity.

Bulgaria construction output year-over-year tracks the annual change in construction production and provides a timely signal of building and infrastructure activity.

A monthly balance-of-payments measure of Bulgaria’s transactions in goods, services, income and transfers with the rest of the world.

A quarterly measure of the change in Bulgaria’s inflation-adjusted economic output from the previous quarter.

GDP measures the inflation-adjusted size and growth of an economy’s output. The year-on-year growth rate compares a quarter with the same quarter a year earlier.

Bulgaria Industrial Production tracks changes in industrial output across manufacturing, mining and utilities, offering a timely view of the country’s goods-producing economy.

Bulgaria’s CPI inflation rate month-over-month measures the monthly change in household consumer prices and is the country’s national CPI-based measure of short-term inflation momentum.

Bulgaria’s year-over-year CPI inflation rate measures the annual change in consumer prices paid by households and is a key gauge of price pressure in the Bulgarian economy.

A candle that closes above its open — buyers finished the period in control.

The Bundesbank Monthly Report is a regular publication from Germany’s central bank. It discusses economic, financial and monetary-policy topics relevant to Germany and the wider euro area.

A monthly survey-based measure of conditions in euro-area manufacturing.

Business confidence tracks firms’ survey-based views of current conditions and near-term economic prospects.

The BusinessNZ PMI is a monthly survey of New Zealand manufacturing conditions and an early signal of whether the sector is expanding or contracting.