Access LSEG QA macroeconomic database for historical economic indicators worldwide. Provides time series data, metadata search, and latest observations. HISTORICAL DATA ONLY
THREE-PHASE WORKFLOW: 1. DISCOVERY (list) → Search for indicators 2. VERIFICATION → Check units, frequency, date range 3. RETRIEVAL (latest/series) → Get the data
REQUEST STRUCTURE: Submit array of requests with dataType and options: { "requests": [ {"dataType": "list|latest|series", "options": {...}} ] }
DATATYPE: "list" (Search Indicators) Find indicators by description and/or country.
Parameters:
- mnemonic: Search code with wildcards (e.g., "US*CPI*")
- description: Search description (e.g., "*GDP*", "*unemployment*")
- marketDescription: Search country (e.g., "*united states*", "*china*")
- frequency: Filter by "ANNL", "QUAR", "MONT", "WFR", "DWY"
- limit: Max results (default 25, max 200)
- offset: Skip records for pagination
Returns: mnemonic, description, market, frequency, unit, source, startDate Present as: Markdown table with columns: Mnemonic | Description | Frequency | Unit | Start Date
Example: {"dataType": "list", "options": {"description": "*GDP*", "marketDescription": "*united states*"}}
DATATYPE: "latest" (Current Value) Get most recent observation for an indicator.
Parameters:
- mnemonic: Exact code from list search (required)
Returns: period, value, unit, frequency, asOf date, revised status
Example: {"dataType": "latest", "options": {"mnemonic": "USI64..XF"}}
DATATYPE: "series" (Time Series) Retrieve historical data for an indicator.
Parameters:
- mnemonic: Exact code (required)
- from: Start date YYYY-MM-DD (inclusive, optional)
- to: End date YYYY-MM-DD (inclusive, optional)
- limit: Max observations (use 200 for 10+ years)
- order: "asc" (oldest first) or "desc" (newest first, default)
- frequency: Override default - "M", "Q", "A"
- includeRevisions: Include all revisions (default false)
Returns: Array of {period, value, unit, revised, asOf} Present as: Markdown table with columns: Year/Period | Value (with unit in header)
- Format numbers with thousand separators
- Include currency/percentage in header or values
- Sort chronologically
Tips:
- Use limit: 200 for long series (10+ years)
- Default may return only recent data without date filters
- Check resultCount for total observations
Example: {"dataType": "series", "options": {"mnemonic": "USI64..XF", "from": "2014-11-01", "limit": 200}}
COMMON INDICATORS:
United States:
- GDP (quarterly, billions): USGDP...B
- CPI %YOY (monthly): USI64..XF
- Unemployment % (monthly): USUN%TOTQ
- Fed Funds % (monthly): USI60...
- Non-Farm Payrolls (monthly, thousands): USEMPALLO
- 10Y Treasury % (daily): FRTCM10
Country Codes: US=USA, CN=Canada, UK=UK, BD=Germany, FR=France, CH=China, JP=Japan, BR=Brazil, ES=Spain
Frequency Codes:
- ANNL/A: Annual
- QUAR/Q: Quarterly
- MONT/M: Monthly
- WFR/W: Weekly
- DWY: Daily
GDP %YOY Patterns:
- China: CHGDP..*C
- Euro Area: EKESNGD&Q
- Germany: BDGDPDEY*
- France: FRGDP..*D
- Spain: ESGDP..*B
GDP PER CAPITA CALCULATION: NOT directly available - must calculate manually.
Critical Steps: 1. Find both GDP and population indicators via list search 2. VERIFY UNITS before calculating (critical!) 3. Calculate with correct unit conversion
Common Patterns:
US (IMF):
- GDP: USY99B.CB = millions USD (annual)
- Population: USI99Z..O = thousands (annual)
- Formula: (GDP_millions / Pop_thousands) × 1,000
- ⚠️ USI99Z..O has corrupt data 1948-1949 - use 1950+
US (BEA):
- GDP: USGDP...B = billions USD (quarterly, annualized)
- Population: USPOPTOTP = thousands (monthly)
- Formula: (GDP_billions × 1,000) / Pop_thousands
Other Countries:
- IMF pattern: [CC]Y99B.CB (GDP), [CC]I99Z..O (Pop)
- Units vary - always verify actual values
- Cross-reference World Bank/IMF published figures
Always validate result against published sources!
DATE FORMATS IN RESULTS:
- Monthly: "YYYY-MM" (e.g., "2024-01")
- Quarterly: "YYYY-QN" (e.g., "2024-Q3")
- Annual: "YYYY"
- Daily: "YYYY-MM-DD"
MULTIPLE REQUESTS: Combine requests in one call: { "requests": [ {"dataType": "list", "options": {"description": "*inflation*", "marketDescription": "*spain*"}}, {"dataType": "series", "options": {"mnemonic": "USI64..XF", "from": "2024-01-01"}}, {"dataType": "latest", "options": {"mnemonic": "USUN%TOTQ"}} ] }
LIMITATIONS: ✗ No forecasts or consensus estimates ✗ No real-time data (indicator lag varies) ✗ No market prices (stocks, commodities) ✗ Coverage varies by country/indicator
TROUBLESHOOTING:
"No data available":
- Check startDate - data may not exist for period
- Recent data may not be published yet
- Try broader date range
Unexpected values:
- Verify units (millions vs billions vs thousands)
- Check if values are rates, indices, or absolute numbers
- Validate against known published figures
Limited results:
- Use limit parameter for long series
- May need pagination for very long histories
DATA SOURCES: National agencies (BLS, BEA, Eurostat), central banks (Fed, ECB), international orgs (IMF, OECD, World Bank), and private providers.
