Economic indicators

Economic indicators are statistical measures that reveal general trends in the economy. There are three different types. Leading indicators have a predictive value, as they anticipate the direction in which the economy is heading.

For example, decreases or increases on the stock exchange can reflect investors' sentiment and the movement of interest rates is usually a good indicator of future economic activity.

Coincident indicators provide information on the current state of the economy.Instead of predicting future events, they change at the same time as the economy or stock market. Lagging indicators confirm long-trends with the benefit of hindsight.