Methodology

Where the data comes from

Every chart is built from official, publicly available UK statistics — principally the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Bank of England, HM Land Registry (UK House Price Index) and the electricity system operator NESO for energy generation. We present and visualise this data; we do not own or produce the underlying statistics. See data sources for the full list and caveats.

How data is imported

We retrieve published series from each source, standardise them into a consistent internal format (dates, values, units and provenance), and store them. Charts render this already-imported data — they do not fetch live from source at view time. This keeps charts fast, reproducible and consistent, and means every value can be traced back to the series it came from.

We do not alter the underlying values. Where a source publishes revisions, later imports pick those revisions up.

What rebasing means

Some comparisons combine indicators that are measured on different scales — for example two index series that each started from a different base year. To compare their growth on a single axis, we can rebase them to a common starting point (for example, setting each series to 100 at the same date). Rebasing changes the displayed scale so trends can be compared fairly; it does not change the shape of the trend or the source data. When a chart has been rebased, it is labelled as such.

Why some indicators lag

Official statistics are published on a schedule, and most describe a period that has already ended. Inflation and labour-market figures, for example, are typically released weeks after the month they cover, and house-price data can lag by longer still because transactions take time to complete and register. As a result, the most recent point on a chart is usually the latest publishedvalue, not today's value.

Freshness and release schedules

Different indicators update at different cadences — some monthly, some quarterly, some (like the Bank Rate) only when a decision is made. We refresh series after their sources publish. Because of this, the latest observation date shown on a card or chart can differ from one indicator to another, and a series can appear unchanged simply because no new data has been released yet.

How to interpret AI explanations

Some charts offer AI-generated explanations. These are written from the chart's underlying figures to help you read a trend in plain English — they summarise and contextualise, they do not add new data. Treat them as a helpful starting point, not as financial advice or a statement of cause and effect. Always check the figures and the original source before relying on any number for a decision.

What source search can and cannot prove

Where available, source search helps you find and link back to the official publication behind a series so you can verify a value at its origin. It can confirm what was published and where. It cannot prove why a number moved, establish causation between two indicators, or predict future values. Correlation shown on a chart is not evidence of cause.

Why some indicators cannot be compared on one chart

Indicators are only directly comparable on a single chart when they share a compatible unit — for example two percentage rates, or two index series that can be rebased to a common base. Mixing fundamentally different units (for example a price in pounds against an index, or a percentage rate against a count) on one axis would be misleading, so ChartView does not silently overlay them. In those cases we either keep the series on separate charts or apply a clearly labelled transform such as rebasing.

How Credits relate to AI and data actions

Viewing charts and browsing the public dashboard is always free and never uses Credits. Credits power AI and data actions — building and changing charts, looking up values, generating explanations and running online source searches. Each plan includes a monthly Credit allowance; see the pricing page for current allowances and what counts as a Credit-using action.

Corrections and revisions

Official data is sometimes revised or restated after first publication. For critical or decision-making purposes, always check the original source. See our data disclaimer for more detail on accuracy and limitations.