Upbeat music plays throughout.
On-screen text: Access Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED®).
Narrator: This demo explores how to use economic data on thinkorswim®.
Animation: thinkorswim home page appears.
Narrator: Go to the Analyze tab, then select Economic Data.
This page gives you access to Federal Reserve Economic Data—called FRED® for short.
Here, you can pull up economic reports and trends, then use them in your analysis and trading.
For example, suppose you want to compare the price of gasoline against the performance of an oil stock. Find the Prices section and select Consumer Price Indexes.
Select Transportation, then Gasoline (all types) from the choices that appear.
You can apply this chart as a study when evaluating different stocks or ETFs. To do so, copy the name of the chart and make note of its time frame. In this case, its data is measured in months.
Now, go to the Charts tab and type the symbol of the stock or ETF you want to analyze. Adjust the time frame of this chart to match the chart you copied.
Animation: Daily stock chart of Exxon Mobil Corporation, ticker XOM, appears.
Narrator: Because the data in that chart is expressed in monthly intervals, we'll change the Aggregation period to monthly.
You're now ready to apply the Consumer Price Index data to your chart as a study. Go to Studies, point to Add Studies, Compare with, then select Custom symbol. Paste the saved data, then select OK.
The study appears below the stock chart. This helps you more easily consider stock price against the consumer price of gasoline.
Let's look at another example. This time focusing exclusively on diesel. Return to the Analyze tab and again select Economic Data.
Select the home icon to reset the tab.
To find data on diesel, you can either select Commodities and search for the data set from the list—or you can type diesel in the search box.
Select the first result, and note the W at the end of the symbol, which indicates weekly intervals.
When the chart appears, copy the symbol, and return to the Charts tab. Remember to change the stock chart's Aggregation period to weekly intervals.
To replace the previous study with the new one, select Studies, then Edit Studies. Select the gear icon next to the comparison study.
Replace the symbol of the original gasoline data by pasting the symbol of the diesel data you just copied, then select OK to see the updated chart.
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