Question
How can I frequency-convert series GFB.IUSA (U.S. federal budget surplus/deficit, monthly) to match government-reported annual figures?
Answer
The annual figures published by the U.S. government are usually per the federal fiscal year (FY), which runs from October to September, but Data Buffet's frequency conversion tools operate on a calendar year (CY) basis, and produce this:
Annual[2016] = sum(January 2016 ... December 2016)
What you want is this:
Annual(September)[2016] = sum(October 2015 ... September 2016)
To control the 12-month interval over which you aggregate the monthly values, write an explicit CONVERT basket formula with the "ANNUAL(SEPTEMBER)" argument to specify that the "year" ends in September. You can use either the short or long form:
(CONVERT(GFB.IUSA, ANNUAL(SEPTEMBER)))
(CONVERT(GFB.IUSA, ANNUAL(SEPTEMBER), LINEAR, SUM))
Note: This formula will work in a basket, but not in view mode, where it will elicit an "invalid expression" error.
See also
Related Releases
Monthly Treasury Statement (MTS)