Excel: Excel Web Add-In User Guide

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Quick Start

Use this workflow when you want to get data into a worksheet quickly:

Open the Trading Economics TE add-in in Excel.
Choose a category such as Indicators, Calendar, Markets, Forecasts, Financials, Ratings, or More Data.
Select the options required for that category and click Get Data.

The sections below explain what each category does, what options are available, and when to use formulas instead of the task pane.

Indicators

Indicators

The Indicators section allows you to access economic indicators for countries worldwide. Economic indicators include data like GDP, inflation rates, unemployment rates, and thousands of other economic metrics.

Available Options:

Latest

Get the most recent values (snapshot) for economic indicators across one or more countries. This shows you the current state of the economy.

Historical

Retrieve time-series data for specific indicators over a period of time. You can choose a specific date range or get all available historical data. This is useful for analyzing trends and patterns over time.

Updates Last Week / Updates Last Month

See which economic indicators were recently updated in the Trading Economics database. This helps you stay informed about newly released data.

How to Get Indicator Data:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Select “Indicators” from the category dropdown menu at the top of the taskpane
Choose your sub-category from the dropdown that appears:
- Select Latest for current values
- Select Historical for time-series data
- Select Updates Last Week or Updates Last Month for recent changes
For Historical data:
- A Category dropdown appears - select the category you want (e.g., GDP, Inflation, Employment)
- An Indicators dropdown appears - select specific indicators from the list
- Additional dropdowns appear for Countries - select one or more countries
- Start Date and End Date input fields appear - enter or select your date range to filter the historical data
- Click Get Data to retrieve and insert the data into your worksheet
For Latest data:
- Select the category and indicators from the dropdowns
- Click Get Data to retrieve the current values
Select where to put the data:
- Click on a cell in your Excel worksheet where you want the data to appear
- The data will be inserted starting from that cell, with headers

Note: When using the Updates options (Last Week/Last Month), you don’t need to make additional selections - it shows all recently updated data. Simply click Get Data after selecting the sub-category.

Result:

Using Custom Functions

You can also use Excel formulas to get indicator data:

=TE.IndicatorsHistorical("united states,canada", "gdp,inflation rate", "2020-01-01", "2023-12-31", "Country,Category,DateTime,Value", "A1")

This formula gets GDP and inflation rate data for the United States and Canada from 2020 to 2023, showing Country, Category, DateTime, and Value columns starting at cell A1.

Calendar

Calendar

The Economic Calendar shows you when economic indicators and events are scheduled to be released by governments and organizations around the world. This helps you plan ahead and know when important economic data will become available.

Available Time Periods:

Today: Events scheduled for today
Tomorrow: Events scheduled for tomorrow
This Week: All events for the current week
Next Week: All events for the upcoming week
Custom: Choose your own specific date range

How to Get Calendar Data:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Select “Calendar” from the category dropdown menu
Choose a time period from the dropdown that appears:
- Select Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week, or Custom
For Custom time periods:
- After selecting Custom, additional dropdowns and inputs appear:
- Countries dropdown - select one or more countries (or leave unselected for all countries)
- Indicators/Events dropdown - select specific economic events you want to track (GDP, employment, inflation, etc.), or leave unselected for all events
- Start Date input - enter or select the start date for your custom range
- End Date input - enter or select the end date for your custom range
For preset time periods (Today, Tomorrow, This Week, Next Week):
- No additional selections needed - these show all events for the selected time period
Select where to put the data:
- Click on a cell in your Excel worksheet
- The calendar data will be inserted starting from that cell
Click “Get Data” to retrieve and insert the calendar into your worksheet

Result:

Using Custom Functions

You can also use Excel formulas to get calendar data:

=TE.Calendar("united states", "GDP", "2024-01-01", "2024-12-31", "Date,Country,Event,Actual,Forecast,Previous", "A1")

This formula gets the GDP release calendar for the United States for the entire year 2024.

Markets

Markets

The Markets section provides access to real-time and historical financial market data including currencies, stocks, commodities, bonds, and cryptocurrencies.

Available Market Types:

Currency: Foreign exchange rates (e.g., EUR/USD, GBP/JPY)
Crypto: Cryptocurrency prices (e.g., Bitcoin, Ethereum)
Index: Stock market indices (e.g., S&P 500, NASDAQ, FTSE 100)
Commodity: Commodity prices (e.g., Gold, Oil, Natural Gas)
Bonds: Government and corporate bond yields
Stocks: Individual company stock prices

How to Get Market Data:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Select “Markets” from the category dropdown menu
Choose a market type from the dropdown that appears:
- Select Currency, Crypto, Index, Commodity, Bonds, or Stocks
- Each type shows the latest market data for that category

Select where to put the data:
- Click on a cell in your Excel worksheet
- The market data will be inserted starting from that cell
Click “Get Data” to retrieve and insert the market data

Getting Specific Symbol Data

If you know the specific symbol you want (e.g., a specific stock or currency pair), you can use custom functions to get detailed data for just that symbol.

Using Custom Functions

Get all markets of a specific type:

=TE.Markets("commodity", "Symbol,Last,High,Low,Close", "A1")

Get data for a specific symbol:

=TE.MarketsSnapshot("AAPL:US", "Symbol,Name,Last,Date,High,Low,Close", "A1")

Get market forecasts:

=TE.MarketsForecasts("currency", "Symbol,Last,Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4", "A1")

Forecasts

Forecasts

The Forecasts section provides expert predictions and projections for economic indicators and financial markets. Trading Economics analysts provide forecasts for future values based on economic models and expert analysis.

Available Forecast Types:

Economic: Economic indicator forecasts (GDP, inflation, unemployment, etc.)
Index: Stock market index predictions
Currency: Foreign exchange rate forecasts
Crypto: Cryptocurrency price projections
Commodity: Commodity price forecasts (oil, gold, etc.)
Bond: Government bond yield predictions

How to Get Forecast Data:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Select “Forecasts” from the category dropdown menu
Choose a forecast type from the dropdown that appears:
- Select Economic, Index, Currency, Crypto, Commodity, or Bond
For Economic forecasts:
- A Countries dropdown appears - select one or more countries
- An Indicators dropdown appears - select which economic indicators you want forecasts for (GDP, inflation, etc.)
- Click Get Data to retrieve the forecasts
For other forecast types (Index, Currency, Crypto, Commodity, Bond):
- No additional selections needed - these show all available forecasts for that market type
- Simply click Get Data after selecting the forecast type
Select where to put the data:
- Click on a cell in your Excel worksheet
- The forecast data will be inserted starting from that cell

Result:

Using Custom Functions

Get economic indicator forecasts:

=TE.ForecastsEconomic("united states,germany", "gdp,inflation rate", "Country,Indicator,Current,Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4", "A1")

Get market forecasts:

=TE.ForecastsMarkets("currency", "Symbol,Last,Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4", "A1")

Financials

Financials

The Financials section provides company financial data and corporate events for publicly traded companies.

Available Financial Data Types:

Earnings Calendar: Scheduled corporate earnings releases
Dividends: Dividend payment information and schedules
IPO: Initial public offering data for new stock listings
Snapshot: Current financial metrics and company information
Historical: Historical financial data and performance

How to Get Financial Data:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Select “Financials” from the category dropdown menu
Choose a financial data type from the dropdown that appears:
- Select Earnings Calendar, Dividends, IPO, Snapshot, or Historical
Make additional selections based on the data type:
- For different financial data types, different dropdowns and inputs will appear
- You may need to select countries where companies are listed
- You may need to select specific companies or stock symbols
- For time-based data (Earnings Calendar, Dividends, IPO), Start Date and End Date inputs will appear
Select where to put the data:
- Click on a cell in your Excel worksheet
- The financial data will be inserted starting from that cell
Click “Get Data” to retrieve and insert the data

Using Custom Functions

Get earnings calendar:

=TE.FinancialsEarnings("united states", "2024-01-01", "2024-12-31", "Symbol,Name,Date,EPS,Revenue", "A1")

Get dividend information:

=TE.FinancialsDividends("AAPL:US", "Symbol,Name,Date,Dividend", "A1")

Ratings

Ratings

The Ratings section provides credit rating information for countries. Credit ratings are assessments by rating agencies (like Moody’s, S&P, and Fitch) that evaluate a country’s ability to repay its debts.

Available Rating Options:

Latest: Current credit ratings for all countries
Historical: Rating changes and history over time for specific countries

How to Get Rating Data:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Select “Ratings” from the category dropdown menu
Choose the rating type from the dropdown that appears:
- Select Latest to get current ratings for all countries
- Select Historical to see rating changes over time
For Latest ratings:
- No additional selections needed
- Click Get Data to retrieve all current country ratings
For Historical ratings:
- A Countries dropdown appears - select one or more countries
- Start Date and End Date inputs appear (optional) - enter date range to filter the historical data, or leave blank to get all historical rating data
- Click Get Data to retrieve the historical ratings
Select where to put the data:
- Click on a cell in your Excel worksheet
- The rating data will be inserted starting from that cell

Result:

Using Custom Functions

Get latest ratings:

=TE.RatingsLatest("", "Country,Agency,Rating,Outlook", "A1")

Get historical ratings for specific countries:

=TE.RatingsHistorical("united states,germany,japan", "2020-01-01", "2024-12-31", "Country,Agency,Rating,Date", "A1")

More Data

More Data

The More Data section provides access to additional specialized data sources from major international organizations.

Available Data Sources:

Eurostat: European Union official statistics
Comtrade: United Nations international trade data (UN Comtrade)
World Bank: World Bank development indicators
Federal Reserve: US Federal Reserve economic data (FRED - Federal Reserve Economic Data)

How to Get Data from Additional Sources:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Select “More Data” from the category dropdown menu
Choose a data source from the dropdown that appears:
- Select Eurostat, Comtrade, World Bank, or Federal Reserve
Select the category and sub-category:
- A Category dropdown appears - select the data category you need
- Depending on the category selected, additional dropdowns may appear for sub-categories or specific indicators
- Each data source has its own categories and indicators
Select where to put the data:
- Click on a cell in your Excel worksheet
- The data will be inserted starting from that cell
Click “Get Data” to retrieve and insert the data

About Each Data Source:

Eurostat: Official statistical office of the European Union. Provides comprehensive statistics for EU member states on economy, population, agriculture, trade, and more.

Comtrade: UN Comtrade is the world’s largest repository of international trade data. Contains detailed import and export statistics by country and commodity.

World Bank: Provides development indicators covering poverty, education, health, infrastructure, environment, and economic development for countries worldwide.

Federal Reserve (FRED): The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis maintains thousands of US economic time series including GDP, employment, interest rates, prices, and financial data.

Using Custom Functions

These data sources typically have their own specialized functions. Refer to the Trading Economics API documentation for specific function syntax for Eurostat, Comtrade, World Bank, and Federal Reserve data.

History

History

The History feature lets you review and reuse Trading Economics functions that you have already run in Excel.

How to Access History:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Click the History icon in the navigation bar at the top of the taskpane
- The History icon is located next to the Settings icon
- It shows a list of your recently used functions
View your function history:
- A popup or modal window will open showing all your previously used Trading Economics functions
- Each entry shows the complete function with all its parameters
- Functions are typically listed with the most recent at the top

How to Reuse a Request:

Browse your history to find the function you want to use again
Click on any function in the history list:
- The function details will be displayed
- You can see all the parameters you used (countries, indicators, date ranges, columns, etc.)
Reuse the function:
- Click the function to select it
- You can either run it again as-is, or modify the parameters before running
- This saves time since you don’t have to set up all the selections again

Why It Helps:

Save Time: Reuse requests instead of rebuilding them.
Consistency: Keep the same parameters for recurring updates.
Reference: Review what data you retrieved before.
Efficiency: Re-run successful requests quickly.

Tips:

History is stored locally in your browser or Excel session
If you frequently use the same data requests, save them as Excel formulas in your worksheet for easy access
Use History to learn function syntax by seeing examples of functions you’ve already used successfully

Refresh

Refresh

The Refresh feature updates Trading Economics data in your active worksheet with the latest available values.

How to Refresh Data:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Click the Refresh icon in the navigation bar at the top of the taskpane
- The Refresh icon is typically located in the top navigation area
- It looks like a circular arrow or refresh symbol
All formulas in your active worksheet will be updated:
- The add-in will re-execute all Trading Economics custom functions (TE.* functions) in the current worksheet
- Data will be updated with the most recent available information
- This includes economic indicators, market data, calendar events, forecasts, and any other Trading Economics data

What Gets Refreshed:

Economic Indicators: Updated to the latest published values
Market Data: Current prices, volumes, and market metrics
Calendar Events: Latest event information including actual values when released
Forecasts: Most recent analyst predictions
Financials: Current company financial data
Ratings: Latest credit rating changes

When to Use Refresh:

Regular Updates: Start of your workday or before important analysis
After Economic Releases: When you know new data has been published
Before Presentations: Ensure all data is current
Market Hours: For frequently changing market data
Weekly/Monthly: For economic indicators on a regular schedule

Important Notes:

Refresh only updates data in the active worksheet (the worksheet you’re currently viewing)
To refresh data in other worksheets, switch to that worksheet and click Refresh again
The speed of refresh depends on how much data you have and your internet connection
Each refresh counts toward your API usage limits based on your subscription plan

Alternative Refresh Methods:

Recalculate Excel: Press F9 in Excel to recalculate all formulas (including Trading Economics functions)
Recalculate Cell: Click on a cell with a TE function and press F9 to update just that cell
Re-run Function: Use the History feature to re-run specific functions

Help

Help

The Help feature gives you direct access to Trading Economics documentation, support resources, and troubleshooting information.

How to Access Help:

Open the Trading Economics add-in by clicking the TE button in your Excel ribbon
Click the Help icon (or Help/About) in the navigation bar at the top of the taskpane
- Usually represented by a question mark icon or “?” symbol
- Located in the top navigation area of the taskpane
You will be directed to the Trading Economics support page:
- Opens the official Trading Economics support and documentation website
- May open in a new browser tab or window

What You’ll Find in Help:

Documentation:

Complete API documentation
Function reference guides
Data coverage information
Column descriptions and data dictionaries

Support Resources:

FAQs and common questions
Troubleshooting guides
Best practices
Tutorial videos and guides

Contact Options:

Email support
Contact forms
Account management
Technical support team

When to Use Help:

Learning the add-in: When you’re first getting started
Function questions: Understanding parameters and syntax
Data questions: Finding out what data is available
Technical issues: Troubleshooting errors or problems
Account questions: Subscription, billing, or access issues
Feature requests: Suggesting new features or improvements

Getting Support:

If you need direct assistance:

Click the Help icon in the add-in
Navigate to the support or contact section
Describe your issue or question with:
- What you’re trying to do
- What’s happening (include any error messages)
- Your Excel version and platform (Web, Mac, or Windows)
- Screenshots if relevant
The Trading Economics support team will assist you

Additional Resources:

API Documentation: docs.tradingeconomics.com
Main Website: tradingeconomics.com
Subscription/Pricing: Information about plans and features
Data Coverage: See what countries, indicators, and markets are available

Tips:

Keep your API key handy when contacting support
Screenshot any error messages to help with troubleshooting
Check the documentation first for quick answers to common questions
For urgent issues during market hours, contact support directly

– Excel Web Add-In Installation and Setup

Excel: Excel Web Add-In User Guide

Quick Start

Indicators

Available Options:

Latest

Historical

Updates Last Week / Updates Last Month

How to Get Indicator Data:

Using Custom Functions

Calendar

Available Time Periods:

How to Get Calendar Data:

Using Custom Functions

Markets

Available Market Types:

How to Get Market Data:

Getting Specific Symbol Data

Using Custom Functions

Forecasts

Available Forecast Types:

How to Get Forecast Data:

Using Custom Functions

Financials

Available Financial Data Types:

How to Get Financial Data:

Using Custom Functions

Ratings

Available Rating Options:

How to Get Rating Data:

Using Custom Functions

More Data

Available Data Sources:

How to Get Data from Additional Sources:

About Each Data Source:

Using Custom Functions

History

How to Access History:

How to Reuse a Request:

Why It Helps:

Tips:

Refresh

How to Refresh Data:

What Gets Refreshed:

When to Use Refresh:

Important Notes:

Alternative Refresh Methods:

Help

How to Access Help:

What You’ll Find in Help:

When to Use Help:

Getting Support:

Additional Resources:

Tips: