Datafeed changes

Here at Oxford Economics we are making some exciting changes to our Datafeed system. 

What is this?

The Oxford Economics datafeeds contain the latest data for our Macro and Industry databanks.  The datafeed files can be received by FTP or from a download link provided via email. 

The changes we are making will allow you to define your own datafeeds.  You will be able to select which regions and indicators you are interested in, as well as selecting different date ranges or measures.  You will be able to create datafeeds for any databank, not just Macro and Industry.

 

How does this affect me?

You are receiving this email because you already receive datafeeds from us.  In order to deliver these improvements we first need to slightly alter the content and format of the datafeeds we currently provide.  These alterations come in three sections.

First of all we are changing the format of the annual and quarterly data files.

  • Separator specified - All CSV files are now created with the separator specified in the first line.  This line ensures the datafeeds can be opened in Excel with the correct separator applied.  If you have a solution which automatically reads the datafeed files then you may need to adjust this to skip the first row.
  • Scientific notation – the data values are no longer provided in scientific format. 
  • Annual values – you may notice a slight discrepancy between some of the annual values provided in the old and new formats.  These discrepancies occur as a result of calculating the annual values based on the quarterly data.  The old values were calculated using different rounding processes.  We are confident that the new values are a more accurate representation of the quarterly data.  The annual values in the new datafeed match the annual values provided in the Global Data Workstation.
  • Date range – we will provide data up to 2040 (the current datafeed format provides data to 2037)

 

Secondly, we are changing some of the metadata provided in the annual and quarterly data files.  We believe the new metadata gives greater consistency across the information provided by Oxford Economics.  The metadata in the datafeed will match the metadata you can see in the Global Data Workstation.  These changes affect the following columns.

  • Unit e.g. for GDP$%WLD “%” will change to “% of world”.
  • Scale .e.g. for GDP$ “Millions” will change to “Millions: 2010”.
  • Country e.g. for region A09, “C.Eur. & Balkans” will change to “Central Europe & the Balkans”.

 

Finally, we will change the datafeed filename.  This change will allow us to deliver the new datafeed format in parallel with the existing format. 

  • The new zipped datafeed filename will be: <YYYYMMdd>_<DatabankCode>_Datafeed.zip

e.g. 20141211_Datafeed_WDMacro.zip

  • The new Annual data csv filename will be: <YYYYMMdd>_<DatabankCode>_Datafeed_Annual.csv

e.g. 20141202_Datafeed_IIS_Datafeed_Annual.csv

  • The new Quarterly data csv filename will be: <YYYYMMdd>_<DatabankCode>_Datafeed_Quarterly.csv

e.g. 20141211_Datafeed_WDMacro_Datafeed_Quarterly.csv

  • The new Contact filename will be: <YYYYMMdd>_<DatabankCode>_Datafeed_Contacts.csv

e.g. 20141202_Datafeed_IIS_Datafeed_Contacts.csv

 

Important Dates

The new datafeeds will be provided from March 2015.  Both datafeed formats will be provided in parallel for a period of three months.  After that period the old datafeed system will be switched off and just the new format will be provided. We will provide a further update before we switch off delivery of the old format.

 

What do I need to do?

If you have systems to automatically process the datafeed file you will need to adjust these to cater for the new file format and the new filename. 

If you have any questions or concerns about these changes then please contact datafeed.admin@oxfordeconomics.com.