Economic drawdowns
How far did an economic series fall from its peak—and how long did recovery take?
Explore current revised economic levels. These are percentage declines in the selected indicator, not investment returns. Peaks start within your selected range.
How drawdowns are measured
Each observation is compared with the highest positive source level seen since the start of the selected range: (level ÷ running peak − 1) × 100. The first positive observation establishes the initial peak. This range can omit an earlier, higher peak.
An episode starts with an observation below a peak and ends at the first observed return to that level or higher. Equal highs use the most recent peak date; equal lows use the first trough date. Durations count calendar months or quarters between observations. An unrecovered episode’s elapsed time stops at its last available observation.
GDP uses the quarters containing your selected months. Other series use monthly source observations. The unfinished current month or quarter is excluded. Missing periods remain blank and lines do not connect across them. Gaps can hide peaks, deeper troughs or an earlier recovery; recovery dates are first observed recoveries.
Zero levels are valid after a positive peak; negative or nonfinite levels are unavailable. Rate series are excluded because dividing changes in rates by a prior rate peak can be misleading. Results use today’s revised data and do not reconstruct what was known at the time.