fred-economic-data
Query FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) API for 800,000+ economic time series from 100+ sources. Access GDP, unemployment, inflation, interest rates, exchange rates, housing, and regional data. Use for macroeconomic analysis, financial research, policy studies, economic forecasting, and academic research requiring U.S. and international economic indicators.
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FRED Economic Data - US Economic Data Query Skill
Skill Overview
Access the St. Louis Fed–maintained database of 800,000+ economic time series via the FRED API to obtain U.S. and international economic indicators such as GDP, unemployment rate, inflation, interest rates, and more.
Use Cases
1. Macroeconomic Analysis and Research
Obtain historical data and real-time updates for core economic indicators like GDP, CPI, unemployment rate, and the federal funds rate to support economic research, market analysis, and policy evaluation. Suitable for analysts, researchers, and academics conducting trend analysis and forecasting.
2. Financial Data and Investment Research
Query financial-market–related data such as Treasury yields, money supply, and industrial production indexes, and combine with data transformation functions (percentage changes, log transforms, etc.) for quantitative analysis and backtesting.
3. Regional Economic and Policy Analysis
Use GeoFRED to obtain regional economic data for U.S. states and counties, and combine with map visualization to perform regional economic comparisons and evaluate policy impacts.
Core Features
1. Economic Time Series Query
Support direct data retrieval by series ID or keyword search for related series. Provide data transformations (percentage change, log, etc.), frequency aggregation (daily to monthly, etc.), and date-range filtering. Historical data are available from the 1900s to the present.
2. Multi-dimensional Data Discovery
Discover related data through a classification system (category navigation), tagging, and data-source browsing. Support filtering by data publishing agency (BLS, BEA, Census Bureau, etc.) and provide a calendar of upcoming macroeconomic releases.
3. Historical Versions (ALFRED) and Regional Data (GeoFRED)
Access pre-revision historical vintages to understand data revision history; obtain regional economic data for U.S. states, counties, and metropolitan areas, with support for GeoJSON format for map visualization.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the FRED API free?
Yes. The FRED API is completely free to use. Simply register an account at fred.stlouisfed.org and request an API key to access all 800,000+ data series. The API has rate limits, but they are sufficient for personal research and normal commercial use.
How do I obtain a FRED API Key?
Visit https://fred.stlouisfed.org to register an account. After logging in, request an API key in your account settings. After obtaining it, it is recommended to set it as the environment variable
FRED_API_KEY; the skill will automatically read and use it. The API key is a 32-character string—please keep it secure.How does FRED differ from other economic databases?
FRED is a free public database maintained by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis that covers core economic indicators officially released in the U.S. Compared with commercial databases like Bloomberg and Wind, FRED is free and focused on U.S. macroeconomic data, but it does not include real-time market quotes or corporate financial data. The historical vintage data provided by ALFRED is a distinctive advantage.