An economic indicator is a statistic that measures part of an economy, such as employment, prices, output or spending, and is published on a regular schedule. Government statistics agencies, central banks and private survey firms publish them, most of them monthly or quarterly. Major releases can coincide with higher volatility and wider spreads.
Also called: economic data, macroeconomic indicator, macro data, economic release
Hypothetical example
Hypothetically, a country's statistics agency reports that retail sales rose 0.4% in the latest month. That figure is one economic indicator; the unemployment rate and inflation are others.
