FORECAST

Microsoft Office Excel 2003

See Also

Calculates, or predicts, a future value by using existing values. 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.

Syntax

FORECAST(x,known_y's,known_x's)

X    is the data point for which you want to predict a value.

Known_y's    is the dependent array or range of data.

Known_x's    is the independent array or range of data.

Remarks

  • If x is nonnumeric, FORECAST returns the #VALUE! error value.
  • If known_y's and known_x's are empty or contain a different number of data points, FORECAST returns the #N/A error value.
  • If the variance of known_x's equals zero, then FORECAST returns the #DIV/0! error value.
  • The equation for FORECAST is a+bx, where:

    Equation

    and:

    Equation

    and where x and y are the sample means AVERAGE(known_x's) and AVERAGE(known y's).

Example

The example may be easier to understand if you copy it to a blank worksheet.

ShowHow?

  1. Create a blank workbook or worksheet.
  2. Select the example in the Help topic. Do not select the row or column headers.

    Selecting an example from Help

    Selecting an example from Help

  3. Press CTRL+C.
  4. In the worksheet, select cell A1, and press CTRL+V.
  5. To switch between viewing the results and viewing the formulas that return the results, press CTRL+` (grave accent), or on the Tools menu, point to Formula Auditing, and then click Formula Auditing Mode.
 
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Known Y Known X
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Formula Description (Result)
=FORECAST(30,A2:A6,B2:B6) Predicts a value for y given an x value of 30 (10.60725)