FORECAST

This function calculates a future value using existing values.

Syntax

FORECAST(value,Yarray,Xarray)

Arguments

This function has these arguments:

Argument	Description
value	Value for which to predict the future dependent value
Yarray	An array of known dependent values (y’s)
Xarray	An array of known independent values (x’s)

Remarks

The predicted value is a y value for a given x value. The known values are existing x values and y values, and the new value is predicted by using linear regression. You can use this function to predict future sales, inventory requirements, or consumer trends.

This function is calculated as follows:

FORECAST Equation

where v is the value argument, Y is the Yarray argument, X is the Xarray argument, and n is the size of the arrays.

Data Types

Accepts numeric data for all arguments. Returns numeric data.

Examples

FORECAST(30,G1:G9,F1:F9)

FORECAST(30,R1C7:R9C7,R1C6:R9C6)

FORECAST(45,{53000,57000,58000,69000,74500,55620,80000, 68700},{35,31,47,51,37,31,58,39}) gives the result 67060.8665320360

Version Available

This function is available in product version 1.0 or later.