The GuruFocus Excel Add-in's GURUE function allows you to download economic indicator data.
What are economic indicators?
Investopedia defines an economic indicator as a piece of economic data, usually on a macroeconomic scale, that “helps to judge the overall health of the economy.” Common economic indicators include the Wilshire 5000 full cap price index and the U.S. gross domestic product, the two key components of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK.A)(BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio)'s favorite market indicator. Other economic indicators include the 10-year Treasury constant maturity rate and the China / U.S. foreign exchange rate, two key economic indicators as investors grapple with ongoing geopolitical issues like Brexit, the Federal Reserve and the U.S.-China trade war.
Installing GURUE
Before you can use either user-defined function, you must first install the GuruFocus Excel Add-in. Please consult the Excel Add-in and GURUF tutorial for instructions.
Using GURUE to retrieve economic data
The following screen shot illustrates the GURUE parameter pop-up window.
As the image illustrates, the GURUE function contains the following parameters:
- Indicator (required): Enter the name of the economic indicator you wish to retrieve data for, e.g., “The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)” or “China / U.S. Foreign Exchange Rate (DEXCHUS).”
- Year (month): Enter the month or year you wish to retrieve data. For example, “2019-06” for June 2019, “2019-04:2019-06” for the period between April 2019 and the end of May 2019, “2019-05:” for all dates since May 2019 or “2018” for all dates for year 2018.
- Show Date: Enter Y to show the dates or N to not show the dates.
- Transpose: Enter H to display the data horizontally, i.e., as a row. Or enter V to display the data vertically, i.e., as a column.
- Display Order: Enter A to display the data in ascending order, with the older dates toward the left or top. Enter D to display the data in descending order, with the newer dates toward the left or top.
Examples:
= GURUE (“The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA)”, “2019-06:”,”Y”,”V”,”D”) outputs the closing values of the Dow for each day since June 1, with the most recent dates at the top.
= GURUE (“China / U.S. Foreign Exchange Rate (DEXCHUS), “2019”,”Y”,”H”,”A”) outputs the daily Chinese yuan to U.S. dollar exchange rate for all of 2019 so far, with the rates from January on the left and the rates from the past few days on the right.
You can also use GURUE in Google Sheets
To use the GURUE function in Google Sheets, first install Google Sheets as instructed in the following quick start guide. After you select "Insert Formula" in the Task Pane, select the "Economic Data" tab to insert a GURUE formula.
