Terms of Trade
Terms of Trade (ToT) is an index that measures the ratio of a country's export prices to its import prices, reflecting the purchasing power of its exports in terms of imports. A rising index means a country can buy more imports for a given volume of exports. It is widely used to assess changes in a country's external purchasing power and the impact of commodity-price swings. This indicator is part of Latin Macro Watch, the macroeconomic database maintained by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for Latin America and the Caribbean.
Coverage
The Terms of Trade series spans 12 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, available at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency over the 1990–2026 period. Values are reported as index levels and index rebased to 2023 = 100, each available as end-of-period and period-average variants. Available transformations are quarter-over-quarter and year-over-year percentage changes (QoQ %, YoY %).
Sources
The data are compiled from national central banks and statistical offices, including Banco Central de Chile, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de la República de Colombia, Banco Central de Uruguay, INDEC - Argentina and the Barbados Statistical Service, among other official agencies across the region. Some series are derived from internal calculations based on national-source data (for example, BCR Perú and Banco Central do Brasil data).
Metadata & use
| Format | CSV |
|---|---|
| Language | en |
| Country |
Argentina
Bahamas
Trinidad & Tobago
Belize
Costa Rica
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
El Salvador
Jamaica
Mexico
Nicaragua
Guatemala
Guyana
Haiti
Honduras
Panama
Uruguay
Venezuela
Barbados
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
|
| Data notes |
What does Terms of Trade measure?It is an index measuring the ratio of a country's export prices to its import prices, reflecting the purchasing power of its exports in terms of imports. A rising index means more imports can be bought for a given volume of exports. How many countries and which frequencies and period are covered?The series covers 12 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean at annual, monthly and quarterly frequency, spanning the 1990–2026 period. What units and transformations are available?Values are available as index levels and index rebased to 2023 = 100, each as end-of-period and period-average variants. Available transformations are QoQ % and YoY % changes. Where does the data come from?The data are compiled from national central banks and statistical offices, including Banco Central de Chile, Banco de Mexico (Banxico), Banco de la República de Colombia, INDEC - Argentina and the Barbados Statistical Service, with some series derived from internal calculations based on national-source data. What are typical uses of this indicator?Economists and policymakers use Terms of Trade to gauge external purchasing power, analyze the impact of commodity-price shocks, and compare trade conditions across Latin America and the Caribbean. How do I cite this indicator?Cite it as: Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Latin Macro Watch — "Terms of Trade". data.iadb.org/dataset/latin-macro-watch-dataset. |