A–Z of economic indicators

U.S. Treasury 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities auction — high real yield

U.S. Treasury 13-week bill auction — high discount rate

A Treasury auction that sets the market yield and price for newly issued two-year U.S. government notes.

U.S. Treasury 26-week bill auction — high discount rate

A monthly U.S. Treasury debt sale that reveals the market-clearing yield, price and investor demand for three-year notes.

A U.S. Treasury auction of long-term government bonds, watched for demand for duration and its impact on Treasury yields and broader financial conditions.

A weekly benchmark for the average rate on U.S. 30-year fixed-rate mortgages, published by Freddie Mac through its Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

U.S. Treasury 5-year note auction — high yield

This event reports the results of a U.S. Treasury auction for very short-term government bills that mature in about six weeks. The most watched figure is usually the auction yield or rate at which the bills were sold.

This event reports the results of a U.S. Treasury auction for government notes with a seven-year maturity. The headline figure on calendars is usually the yield awarded at the auction.

ADP Weekly Employment Change is a high-frequency estimate of U.S. private-sector job growth. It gives an early read on whether private employers are adding or cutting jobs.

The U.S. Advance Goods Trade Balance shows the difference between the value of goods the United States exports and imports for a month. A negative number means the country imported more goods than it exported.

This measures the monthly change in the value of inventories held by U.S. retailers, excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers. It helps show whether retailers are building or drawing down stock outside the volatile auto sector.

U.S. Average Weekly Hours tracks the average workweek for employees on private nonfarm payrolls and is released with the monthly Employment Situation report.

A weekly measure of active drilling rigs in the United States, widely used to track conditions in the oil and gas drilling industry.

A revised monthly reading of U.S. housing units authorized for construction.

U.S. Business Inventories tracks the value of goods held by manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, providing a broad view of stock levels across the business sector.

The U.S. Consumer Price Index tracks changes in prices paid by urban consumers and is a major gauge of U.S. inflation pressure.

U.S. new orders for non-defence capital goods excluding aircraft (Census) — monthly change

A monthly measure of U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, excluding transportation equipment.

A monthly measure of U.S. retail and food-services sales excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers.

A quarterly U.S. measure of profits earned by corporations from current production.

A monthly measure of changes in U.S. orders for long-lasting manufactured goods, excluding defense-related orders.

A monthly Census Bureau measure of new orders received by U.S. manufacturers for long-lasting goods.

A weekly measure of commercial crude oil stocks in the United States, published by the Energy Information Administration.

The U.S. Export Price Index month-over-month change tracks monthly movements in prices for U.S. exports and helps traders assess traded-goods inflation pressure.

A monthly Census Bureau measure of changes in new orders placed with U.S. manufacturers.

A broad measure of price changes for goods and services produced in the United States.

A monthly measure of newly begun privately owned residential construction in the United States.

U.S. Housing Starts MoM measures the monthly change in new residential construction activity, usually using the seasonally adjusted annual rate of privately owned housing units started.

The U.S. Import Price Index MoM tracks the monthly change in prices paid for imports into the United States and is watched as an early signal of imported inflation pressure.

Initial Jobless Claims track new weekly applications for U.S. unemployment insurance and are used as a fast-moving gauge of layoffs and labor-market stress.

The four-week average of U.S. initial jobless claims smooths weekly unemployment-insurance filings to show the underlying trend in layoffs.

A monthly report on U.S. exports, imports and the resulting goods-and-services trade balance.

U.S. manufacturing output (Federal Reserve G.17) — monthly change

This is the Federal Reserve's monthly update on the amount of money in the U.S. economy. It focuses on measures such as M1 and M2, which include cash, checking deposits and other liquid deposits.

The U.S. Monthly Treasury Statement reports federal receipts, outlays and the monthly budget surplus or deficit.

U.S. Net Long-Term TIC Flows measure net cross-border transactions in long-term securities between U.S. and foreign residents, offering a window into portfolio capital flows and demand for U.S. assets.

U.S. nonfarm business labor productivity tracks quarterly changes in output per hour worked, a key measure of economic efficiency.

A monthly US housing indicator based on contracts signed for existing homes before the sales are completed.

U.S. Pending Home Sales tracks signed contracts to buy previously owned homes and is watched as a leading indicator for future existing-home sales.

U.S. Pending Home Sales YoY tracks the annual change in signed contracts to buy existing homes, offering a forward-looking view of housing demand before sales are completed.

A monthly Bureau of Economic Analysis measure of the change in income received by U.S. households and nonprofit institutions serving households.

A monthly measure of changes in U.S. consumer spending, based on personal consumption expenditures (PCE).

U.S. Private Nonfarm Payrolls tracks monthly changes in payroll jobs at private nonfarm businesses and is released within the BLS Employment Situation report.

Redbook YoY is a weekly gauge of U.S. retail sales growth compared with the same period a year earlier. It is produced by Redbook Research and focuses on same-store sales trends at large retailers.

Weekly Wednesday level of balances banks hold at the Federal Reserve, from the Fed's H.4.1 release (millions of US dollars, not seasonally adjusted).

A monthly measure of the change in a narrower, GDP-relevant slice of U.S. retail sales, excluding several volatile or separately treated categories.

A monthly U.S. Census Bureau indicator tracking retail and food-service sales growth excluding motor vehicle and parts dealers.

A monthly measure of U.S. retail and food-service sales that excludes gasoline stations and motor vehicle and parts dealers, used to assess underlying consumer demand.

U-6 is the broadest BLS unemployment-style measure, adding marginally attached workers and people working part time for economic reasons to the officially unemployed.

U.S. nonfarm unit labor costs track labor compensation per unit of output and are a key gauge of wage-related cost pressure after accounting for productivity.

A monthly measure of the value of goods held for sale by U.S. merchant wholesalers.

U.S. Wholesale Inventories MoM measures the monthly change in goods held in stock by merchant wholesalers. It shows whether wholesalers are building or drawing down inventories.

UK Average Weekly Earnings including bonuses tracks annual growth in total employee pay in Great Britain, averaged over a three-month period.

UK Business Investment QoQ tracks the quarterly change in business spending on non-financial assets and is a component of investment in the national accounts.

UK new car registrations (SMMT) — annual change

This refers to a UK government bond operation involving conventional gilts. Conventional gilts are nominal, fixed-income UK government bonds, unlike index-linked gilts whose cash flows are linked to inflation.

12-month change in UK consumer prices excluding energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, published by the ONS.

Monthly change in seasonally adjusted Great Britain retail sales volumes excluding automotive fuel.

The UK GDP 3-Month Average is a rolling measure of real economic growth over the latest three months compared with the previous three months.

A monthly estimate of real UK economic output, used to track near-term growth momentum.

A measure of the UK’s goods exports minus goods imports with countries outside the European Union.

Monthly change in UK broad money (M4ex), published by the Bank of England.

UK manufacturing output (ONS Index of Production) — monthly change

A monthly measure of the net amount households borrow through mortgages, used to track housing-related credit conditions in the UK.

Monthly net borrowing by UK individuals (mortgages plus consumer credit), in £ billion, from the Bank of England.

UK Producer Price Index — input prices, monthly change

UK Producer Price Index — input prices, annual change

UK Producer Price Index — output prices, monthly change

UK Producer Price Index — output prices, annual change

A monthly measure of whether the UK public sector spent more or less than it received.

A monthly measure of the change in the quantity of retail goods bought in Great Britain, excluding automotive fuel.

A measure of changes in retail purchasing after petrol and diesel sales are removed.

A Treasury Gilt 2040 Tender is a sale of a UK government bond maturing in 2040. Investors bid for the gilt, and the result shows how much was sold and at what prices or yields.

Ukraine’s month-over-month inflation rate shows the latest monthly change in the Consumer Price Index for goods and services bought by households.

Ukraine’s year-over-year inflation rate shows the annual change in consumer prices measured by the Consumer Price Index.

A regular U.S. Treasury sale of 20-year bonds that offers a read on demand for long-dated government debt.

A monthly survey measure of the inflation rate U.S. consumers expect over the next year.

A monthly survey measure of US consumers’ longer-run inflation expectations.

The completed monthly University of Michigan survey reading on how US consumers assess their finances and the economy.

A year-on-year measure of changes in Uruguay's consumer prices, based on the Consumer Price Index.

A monthly measure of the share of Uruguay’s labour force that is unemployed and actively seeking work.

Building permits show how many new private housing units have been authorized for construction in the United States.

A monthly composite indicator intended to give an early view of potential turning points in the US business cycle.

A monthly Federal Reserve report covering non-mortgage credit extended to US consumers.

New York Fed median one-year-ahead household inflation expectation, in percent.

The Consumer Price Index is a monthly measure of changes in the prices consumers pay for a broad basket of goods and services.

A US inflation measure that excludes food and energy prices from the Consumer Price Index.

A monthly measure of underlying US consumer-price inflation that excludes food and energy.

A monthly measure of underlying US consumer-price inflation that excludes food and energy.

A yearly measure of US consumer-price inflation excluding food and energy.

A monthly measure of U.S. producer-price inflation excluding volatile components, used to assess pipeline inflation pressure.

A year-over-year measure of underlying US producer-price inflation after selected volatile components are excluded.

A quarterly US measure of the change in employers’ spending on employee benefits.

A revised quarterly reading of inflation-adjusted US economic output, published after more complete source data become available.

A monthly measure of the change in US federal, state and local government employment, published as part of the Employment Situation report.

A smoothed weekly measure of new US unemployment-insurance claims that helps traders assess changes in labour-market conditions.

A monthly measure of the change in employment on US manufacturing payrolls.

The annual benchmark revision is BLS's comparison of US payroll estimates with more complete administrative employment records.

A monthly measure of price changes received by US producers for their output.

A monthly measure of changes in prices received by US producers for their output.

A retail-positioning snapshot for USD/JPY based on community outlook data.

Uzbekistan’s foreign exchange reserves measure the central bank’s stock of official reserve assets and other foreign-currency assets, an important gauge of external liquidity and currency resilience.