Indicators

KOSPI Index

The market-cap weighted composite index of every stock on the Korea Exchange main board. Large semiconductor names dominate the weighting, so the index tracks export conditions and foreign flows closely.

NASDAQ Composite

The composite index of every stock listed on the Nasdaq market. Overwhelmingly weighted toward technology and growth names, it is rate-sensitive and serves as an overnight reference for Korean growth stocks.

S&P 500

The market-cap weighted index of 500 large US companies. It is the reference point for global risk assets and the benchmark for most equity money, setting the backdrop for Korean market sessions.

Dow Jones

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a price-weighted average of 30 large US blue-chip stocks. Its narrow membership and price weighting make it best read alongside the S&P 500 rather than on its own.

Nikkei 225

The price-weighted Nikkei 225, Japan's headline equity index. It frequently moves inversely to the yen, so reading it with the exchange rate separates real earnings strength from currency effects.

Philadelphia Semiconductor Index

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index of leading US-listed chip companies. Spanning memory, foundry, and equipment, it is a standard overnight reference for the direction of Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

KOSDAQ

The composite index covering the entire KOSDAQ market. Weighted toward small-cap growth names in biotech, batteries, and software, it swings more with risk appetite and retail flows than the KOSPI.

Hang Seng Index

Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index. Dominated by mainland Chinese companies, it is sensitive to policy and regulatory shifts and serves as the window on how foreign capital prices Chinese risk.

Shanghai Composite

The composite index of all stocks listed in Shanghai. With heavy retail participation and strong policy influence, stimulus expectations and regulatory shifts show up in the index almost immediately.

Taiwan Weighted Index

Taiwan's capitalization-weighted index of all listed shares. With TSMC and other chipmakers dominating the weighting, it tracks the global semiconductor cycle alongside Korean chip stocks.

VN-Index

The benchmark index of the Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange. As a frontier-market gauge shaped by manufacturing relocation and domestic growth, it signals whether risk appetite for emerging Asia is reviving.

Germany DAX

The benchmark index of the Frankfurt exchange. With autos, chemicals, and machinery dominating, it reflects European growth, Chinese demand, and energy costs faster than most European indices.

India SENSEX

India's benchmark SENSEX index in Mumbai. Backed by domestic growth and demographics, it shows where emerging-market money is rotating, and it competes with Korea for the same pool of flows.

KOSPI 200

The index of 200 KOSPI constituents selected for size, liquidity, and sector representation. As the underlying for Korea's futures, options, and largest ETFs, it channels derivative flows into the cash market.

Euro Stoxx 50

The blue-chip index of fifty leading eurozone companies. It summarises risk appetite across the single-currency bloc and responds quickly to European Central Bank policy and energy price shifts.

FTSE 100

The index of the 100 largest companies listed in London. Weighted toward energy, financials, and miners that earn much of their revenue abroad, it can actually benefit when sterling weakens.

Australia ASX 200

Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index. Heavily weighted toward miners and banks, it reflects the iron ore and coal cycle and expectations for Chinese demand more directly than most developed markets.

Russell 2000

An index of 2,000 US small-cap stocks, domestically oriented and rate-sensitive through heavier debt loads. Its performance relative to large-cap benchmarks shows how broadly a US rally extends and how deep risk appetite really runs.

Spain IBEX 35

The IBEX 35 tracks the thirty-five most liquid stocks on the Madrid exchange. Weighted toward banks, utilities, and tourism-linked large caps, it reads as a gauge of southern-European growth and how euro-area rate policy is landing in the real economy.

Brazil Bovespa

The Bovespa is the headline index of Brazil's B3 exchange, covering its most traded names. Dominated by commodity exporters and banks, it moves with iron ore and oil cycles and doubles as a barometer of emerging-market risk appetite.

USD/KRW

The Korean won price of one US dollar, the headline FX rate for Korean markets. A rising rate raises currency losses for foreign investors and lifts import prices, so it drives both equity flows and inflation.

US Broad Dollar Index

A broad nominal index of the US dollar against a basket of trading-partner currencies. When it rises, global dollar liquidity tightens, which typically pressures emerging markets and risk assets.

USD/JPY

The Japanese yen price of one US dollar. It tracks the US-Japan interest rate differential closely, and fast yen weakness feeds into carry-trade positioning and global liquidity flows.

EUR/USD

The dollar price of one euro, the most heavily traded currency pair in the world. It carries the largest weight in the dollar index, making it the primary axis for judging dollar strength or weakness.

USD/CNY

The Chinese yuan price of one US dollar. Because it reflects how the People's Bank of China manages the currency, a rising level — a weaker yuan — tends to transmit depreciation pressure across Asian currencies.

JPY100/KRW

The Korean won price of 100 Japanese yen. It shows the won against the yen, framing the price competitiveness of exporters that compete with Japan as well as the cost of yen assets and travel.

EUR/KRW

The Korean won price of one euro. It feeds directly into Europe-bound trade settlement and euro asset valuation, and read next to USD/KRW it separates won weakness from broad dollar strength.

CNY/KRW

The Korean won price of one Chinese yuan. With China as Korea's largest trading partner, the two currencies often move together, making this a read on China-linked trade conditions and Asian FX pressure.

Bitcoin (USD)

The global dollar price of bitcoin. It reacts sharply to liquidity conditions and risk appetite, so reading it alongside the Nasdaq and interest rates helps gauge the market's overall tolerance for risk.

Bitcoin (KRW)

The bitcoin price in Korean won on the domestic exchange. It blends the global dollar price with the exchange rate, showing the level Korean investors actually face and won-based risk appetite.

Ethereum (USD)

The dollar price of ethereum, the second-largest crypto asset. It reflects demand for smart-contract platforms and staking, while its ratio to bitcoin shows how broadly crypto risk appetite has spread.

Ethereum (KRW)

The ethereum price in Korean won on the domestic exchange. Its strength relative to bitcoin helps judge whether domestic investors are rotating money back into altcoins.

XRP (USD)

The dollar price of XRP, the token behind a cross-border settlement network. It reacts strongly to regulatory rulings and partnership news, serving as a reference for regulatory sentiment across altcoins.

XRP (KRW)

The XRP price in Korean won on the domestic exchange. Korean trading makes up an outsized share of global XRP volume, so it shows how far domestic retail money has crowded into a single altcoin.

Solana (USD)

The Solana (SOL) price in US dollars from global exchanges. As a flagship high-throughput blockchain token it is more volatile than Bitcoin, so its swings show how aggressively risk appetite is extending into the crypto market.

Solana (KRW)

The Solana (SOL) price in Korean won from Upbit daily candles. Read against the dollar price it reveals the temperature gap of domestic crypto demand, and when won-denominated altcoin turnover surges it gauges retail risk appetite in Korea.

Dogecoin (USD)

The Dogecoin (DOGE) price in US dollars from global exchanges. As the flagship meme coin it trades on sentiment rather than fundamentals, so its rallies gauge whether crypto risk appetite has extended into its speculative, late-cycle phase.

Dogecoin (KRW)

The Dogecoin (DOGE) price in Korean won from Upbit daily candles. A meme coin dominated by domestic retail flow, it shows how strong won-denominated altcoin speculation is, and its gap against the dollar price flags when the local market overheats.

Cardano (USD)

The Cardano (ADA) price in US dollars from global exchanges. A flagship first-generation altcoin with a top-tier market cap, its relative strength against Bitcoin tracks how far the altcoin rotation has progressed in the crypto cycle.

Cardano (KRW)

The Cardano (ADA) price in Korean won from Upbit daily candles. An altcoin with a traditionally heavy Korean trading share, it shows the strength of won-market altcoin preference, with its gap to the dollar price revealing domestic crowding.

Tether (KRW)

The Tether (USDT) price in Korean won from Upbit daily candles. Effectively the dollar exchange rate of the crypto market, it directly reflects won money flowing into and out of crypto, and its gap to USD/KRW feeds the premium gauge.

Gold

The London-market gold spot price in dollars per troy ounce. Because it reflects safe-haven demand, real interest rates, and the dollar all at once, it is a standard first reference during risk-off periods.

Silver

The London-market silver spot price in dollars per troy ounce. Silver is both a precious metal and an industrial input for solar panels and electronics, so it typically moves with more volatility than gold.

WTI

The spot price of West Texas Intermediate crude in dollars per barrel. It reflects US inventories and output alongside global demand expectations, a core reference for energy costs and the inflation path.

Natural Gas

The Henry Hub natural gas spot price in dollars per MMBtu. It swings with heating and power demand, storage levels, and seasonality, making it an early read on energy costs and electricity price pressure.

Copper

The international copper price in dollars per tonne. Because copper feeds construction, wiring, and electric vehicles alike, it is a classic cyclical read on manufacturing activity and Chinese demand.

Wheat

The international wheat price in dollars per tonne. Driven by harvests, exporter policy, and freight costs, it is an early indicator of food inflation and cost-of-living pressure in emerging markets.

Brent Crude Oil

The dollar-per-barrel price of North Sea Brent crude, the benchmark that prices most seaborne oil trade. Useful for reading energy costs, inflation pressure, and the input-cost backdrop for refiners and chemical producers.

Platinum

The platinum price in dollars per troy ounce. Used in diesel autocatalysts and hydrogen technology while also trading as a precious metal, it blends industrial demand with investment sentiment.

Palladium

The palladium price in dollars per troy ounce. Concentrated in gasoline autocatalysts, it tracks the vehicle production cycle and the supply risk of output clustered in Russia and South Africa.

Corn

The front-month CBOT corn futures price in US cents per bushel. Corn feeds livestock, food production, and ethanol alike, making it a benchmark for grain inflation that swings with harvests and exporter policy.

Soybean

The front-month CBOT soybean futures price in US cents per bushel. As the key input for protein feed and cooking oil, it is sensitive to Chinese import demand and South American harvests, an early read on global food-price pressure.

Coffee

The front-month ICE arabica coffee futures price in US cents per pound. A benchmark soft commodity that swings with Brazilian and Vietnamese harvests and extreme weather, it front-runs global food inflation and cost pressure across the coffee chain.

Cocoa

The front-month ICE cocoa futures price in US dollars per metric ton. With supply concentrated in Ivory Coast and Ghana it is extremely sensitive to harvest shocks, as the record 2024 rally showed — the emblematic supply-shock soft commodity.

Sugar

The front-month ICE Sugar No. 11 futures price in US cents per pound — the world benchmark for raw sugar. Driven by Brazilian harvests and the real, Indian export policy, and ethanol diversion, it front-runs cost pressure in processed food.

Cotton

The front-month ICE cotton futures price in US cents per pound. As the core input of apparel and textiles it blends global clothing demand with US, Indian, and Chinese harvests, gauging consumer-goods input costs and EM textile margins.

Gasoline

The front-month NYMEX RBOB gasoline futures price in US dollars per gallon. Leading US pump prices, it feeds straight into consumer sentiment and headline inflation, and its crack spread against crude reads the refining-margin environment.

KOSPI Foreign Net Buy

Foreign investors' net buying on the KOSPI, purchases minus sales. It responds quickly to the exchange rate and global fund flows, and it is the single biggest swing factor in large-cap supply and demand.

KOSPI Institution Net Buy

Net buying on the KOSPI by domestic institutions such as pension funds and asset managers. It often runs opposite to foreign and retail flows, so reading all three together maps the market's supply structure.

KOSPI Retail Net Buy

Retail investors' net buying on the KOSPI. Individuals often buy dips and sell rallies, and paired with margin loan balances the series also frames the risk of forced liquidation.

KR Investor Deposits

Customer cash sitting in Korean brokerage accounts but not yet invested. It measures the dry powder waiting to enter the market, a gauge of the potential firepower behind domestic retail flows.

KR Foreign Portfolio Flow

Net foreign investment into Korean stocks and bonds from the balance-of-payments financial account. Broader in coverage than daily net-buy figures, it shows on a monthly basis whether foreign capital is entering or leaving Korean markets as a whole.

KOSPI Trading Value

Daily trading value on the KOSPI main board in trillions of won. As a gauge of market energy and participation, it qualifies index moves: an advance on expanding turnover carries different weight from one on shrinking volume.

Credit Risk: HY OAS / IG OAS

The high-yield corporate bond spread divided by the investment-grade spread. The ratio shows whether the risk premium gap between credit tiers is widening or narrowing, isolating stress inside lower-quality credit.

FINRA Margin Debt

The monthly debit balance in US customer securities margin accounts compiled by FINRA. Rapid growth signals expanding leverage, while a sharp drawdown often marks forced liquidation and deleveraging.

KOSPI Margin Credit

The margin loan balance against KOSPI-listed shares, tracking retail leverage in large caps. Comparing it with the total and KOSDAQ balances shows which part of the market is carrying the leverage.

KOSDAQ Margin Credit

The margin loan balance against KOSDAQ-listed shares. With small-cap growth and theme stocks dominating the market, surges flag short-term overheating while sharp drops warn of forced-selling drawdowns.

US High Yield OAS

The option-adjusted spread on US high-yield corporate bonds, the extra yield demanded over Treasuries. It widens as default risk perception rises, making it one of the fastest gauges of stress in risk assets.

US Investment Grade OAS

The option-adjusted spread on US investment-grade corporate bonds. Because it shows the premium demanded even from solid issuers, it reveals whether credit stress has spread from junk into high-quality markets.

Korea Bank Loans YoY

Year-over-year growth in the total loan balance of Korean deposit banks. It measures how fast credit is actually flowing to households and firms, a read on domestic funding conditions and bank lending appetite.

Korea Household Credit YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korean household credit, covering both household loans and credit purchases. When it outruns income growth, debt service is eating into the spending capacity of households.

Korea Household Loans YoY

Year-over-year growth in household loans at Korean depository institutions. Covering mortgages and unsecured credit alike, it shows how fast household debt is building and how it responds to rates and regulation.

Korea Housing Loans YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's housing-related household loans. Dominated by mortgages, it shows whether a recovery in property transactions or a change in lending rules is actually showing up in credit flows.

Korea CP 91D Rate

The 91-day commercial paper rate, the cost firms pay for short-term working capital. It often spikes faster than CD or call rates, so it works as an early warning of short-term credit tightening.

Korea Corporate Bond AA- 3Y

The three-year yield on AA- rated Korean corporate bonds, the standard reference for high-grade issuers. It shows what solid corporates actually pay to borrow, and its gap to treasuries frames credit conditions.

Korea Corporate Bond BBB- 3Y

The three-year yield on BBB- rated Korean corporate bonds, the bottom rung of investment grade. As the weakest eligible issuers, these yields tend to rise earlier and further than high-grade paper when markets turn.

Korea BBB- Credit Spread 3Y

The BBB- three-year corporate bond yield minus the three-year Korea Treasury yield. This spread is the extra funding cost lower-rated issuers pay over the government, a direct gauge of domestic credit caution.

US Commercial and Industrial Loans

Seasonally adjusted commercial and industrial loans on the books of US commercial banks. It captures corporate borrowing demand and bank lending standards together, a read on credit supply to the real economy.

Korea AA- Credit Spread 3Y

The Korean AA- 3-year corporate bond yield minus the 3-year treasury yield. This spread is the risk premium on high-grade corporate funding and the standard thermometer of stress in Korea's credit market, widening when funding conditions tighten.

Korea CP-CD Spread 91D

The 91-day commercial paper yield minus the 91-day CD yield. As the funding-cost gap between corporate and bank short-term money, it is the stress gauge that widens first when Korea's money market seizes up, as it did in the 2022 Legoland crisis.

VIX Index

The index of expected 30-day S&P 500 volatility implied by option prices. A spike means the market is pricing the possibility of large declines, making it the standard measure of risk aversion.

Cboe Total Put/Call Ratio

Total US options put volume divided by call volume. A higher reading means hedging demand is crowding in, and extreme highs are sometimes read as a contrarian signal that fear has peaked.

Korea CPI

Korea's consumer price index across the goods and services households actually buy. As the level series behind the year-over-year rate, it shows how far the overall price level has climbed.

Korea CPI YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's consumer price index. It is the headline number behind the Bank of Korea's inflation target and the starting point for policy-rate decisions and real-rate calculations.

BOK Base Rate

The base rate set by the Bank of Korea's Monetary Policy Board. It anchors call and other short-term market rates as well as deposit and lending rates, and moves with inflation, FX, and household debt in view.

Korea Real Policy Rate

The Bank of Korea base rate minus consumer price inflation. Since the same nominal rate is less restrictive when inflation runs high, this series shows how tight policy actually is in real terms.

Korea Treasury 10Y

The market yield on 10-year Korea Treasury Bonds. It embeds long-run growth and inflation expectations, feeding into long-term borrowing costs and the discount rate applied to equity valuations.

Korea 10Y-3Y Spread

The Korean 10-year treasury yield minus the 3-year yield. A flattening or inverted curve says the market expects slower growth and rate cuts, while steepening points to recovering growth and inflation.

Korea Real GDP YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's real gross domestic product, adjusted for price changes. Released quarterly, it is the most comprehensive benchmark for judging where the economy stands in the cycle.

US CPI

The US consumer price index for all urban consumers. As the level series behind the year-over-year rate, it shows how far prices have risen in absolute terms even when the inflation rate cools.

US CPI YoY

Year-over-year growth in the US consumer price index. It is the inflation print markets react to most immediately, often moving rates, the dollar, and equities together on release.

Fed Funds Rate

The effective federal funds rate actually transacted in the US overnight interbank market. The Fed sets a target range and this is where the market clears, showing policy at the point of execution.

US Real Fed Funds Rate Proxy

A backward-looking real rate proxy: the effective federal funds rate minus year-over-year CPI inflation. It shows that a high nominal rate can still be accommodative when inflation runs higher.

US 10Y-2Y Spread

The US 10-year Treasury yield minus the 2-year yield. An inversion has preceded most past recessions, making this the most widely cited market signal for the economic cycle.

US Unemployment Rate

The share of the US labor force that is seeking work but unemployed. Alongside inflation it is one of the Federal Reserve's mandated objectives, so each release feeds straight into rate expectations.

US Unemployment Gap

The current US unemployment rate minus its trailing 12-month low. It measures how far unemployment has risen off its floor, a reference for judging whether the labor market has turned.

US Real GDP YoY

Year-over-year growth in US real gross domestic product, adjusted for prices. As the growth rate of the world's largest economy, it sets the background conditions for Korean exports and global risk assets.

US Treasury 10Y

The market yield on the 10-year US Treasury, the reference discount rate for global asset prices. When it rises, growth-stock valuations and emerging-market capital flows come under pressure.

US Treasury 2Y

The yield on the 2-year US Treasury, which compresses expectations for the policy rate path over the next two years. It moves earlier and further than the 10-year when Fed expectations shift.

US M2 Money Stock YoY

Year-over-year change in the US M2 money stock, covering cash, deposits, and money market balances. It shows whether liquidity is expanding or contracting behind asset prices.

US Initial Jobless Claims

The weekly count of newly filed US unemployment insurance claims. It is the fastest-published labor statistic, giving a near real-time read on whether cracks are forming in the job market.

US Continued Jobless Claims

The weekly count of US workers still receiving unemployment benefits. Where initial claims show the pace of layoffs, continued claims show how quickly the unemployed are finding new jobs.

US Retail Sales YoY

Year-over-year change in US advance retail and food services sales. Consumption makes up roughly two-thirds of the US economy, so this monthly series is central to reading the cycle.

US Industrial Production YoY

Year-over-year change in the US industrial production index, covering manufacturing, mining, and utilities. It measures physical output, helping locate the troughs and peaks of the manufacturing cycle.

US PCE Inflation YoY

Year-over-year growth in the US personal consumption expenditures price index. Because it adjusts for shifts in what people buy, it typically runs below CPI, and it is the Fed's official inflation measure.

US Core PCE YoY

Year-over-year US core PCE inflation, excluding food and energy. This is the measure the Federal Reserve formally targets when judging progress toward its 2 percent inflation goal.

US Consumer Sentiment

The University of Michigan's monthly survey of US consumer sentiment. It combines households' assessment of current conditions with their expectations, framing both spending direction and inflation expectations.

US Housing Starts

The number of privately owned US housing units on which construction actually began. Highly rate-sensitive, it connects through to construction employment and materials demand across the wider economy.

US Building Permits

The number of privately owned US housing units authorized by building permits. Because permits precede construction, the series is classified as a leading indicator of housing supply and investment.

US Nonfarm Payrolls YoY

Year-over-year growth in US nonfarm payroll employment. The monthly payroll release carries the most market impact of any labor statistic, and this series shows whether hiring momentum is slowing.

US Job Openings

Total US job openings across nonfarm industries — the vacancies employers are trying to fill. Compared with the number of unemployed, it gauges labor-market tightness and wage pressure.

Korea M2 YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's M2 broad money, which includes time deposits and beneficiary certificates. It tracks the overall stock of liquidity sitting behind asset prices and inflation pressure.

Korea M1 YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's M1 narrow money — cash and demand deposits available for immediate use. Read against M2, it shows whether money is shifting into short-term, ready-to-move form.

Korea Lf Liquidity YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's Lf liquidity aggregate. Broader than M2, it includes instruments held at insurers and securities firms, giving the widest view of liquidity circulating in the economy.

Korea Monetary Base YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's monetary base, the currency and reserves supplied directly by the central bank. As the starting point of money creation, it reflects shifts in the policy stance first.

Korea Bank Deposits YoY

Year-over-year growth in total deposits at Korean banks. It shows whether household and corporate money is flowing into bank accounts or leaving for equities, property, and other risk assets.

Korea Call Rate

The overnight rate at which Korean financial institutions lend to each other for a single day. It is the shortest-term rate and the first to follow the Bank of Korea base rate, the start of policy transmission.

Korea CD 91D Rate

The 91-day certificate of deposit rate. It represents banks' short-term funding cost and still serves as the reference rate for some loan products, a channel through which market rates reach borrowers.

Korea Current Account

Korea's seasonally adjusted current account balance, combining goods, services, and income flows. A sustained surplus brings in foreign currency and cushions both the exchange rate and external credibility.

Korea FX Reserves

The total foreign currency assets held by the Bank of Korea. Reserves define the capacity to intervene when the exchange rate moves sharply and to meet external obligations, a key input to sovereign credit assessment.

Korea PPI YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korea's producer price index, tracking prices where firms ship goods. It typically passes through to consumer prices with a lag, serving as an early signal of inflation pressure.

Korea Exports YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korean export value. Dominated by semiconductors and autos, it is one of the earliest reads on the global demand cycle and a leading indicator for listed-company earnings.

Korea Imports YoY

Year-over-year growth in Korean import value. It captures both commodity prices and domestic demand, so comparing it with export growth gives an early read on the direction of the trade balance.

Korea Leading Cycle Index

The cyclical component of Korea's leading composite index, with the trend removed. Turning up through 100 marks an expansion phase and turning down marks a slowdown, a standard cycle-timing gauge.

Korea Semiconductor Exports YoY

Year-over-year change in Korea's semiconductor export value index. Semiconductors are the country's largest export item and drive KOSPI large-cap earnings, making this the export series closest to the equity market.

Korea Consumer Sentiment

A monthly composite of how Korean consumers judge their circumstances and expect conditions and spending to develop. Above 100 means sentiment is more optimistic than the long-run average, an early read on domestic demand.

Korea All-Industry Business Outlook BSI

A monthly survey index of how Korean firms across all industries expect business conditions to develop. Above 100 more companies expect improvement than deterioration; below 100 the balance is negative.

Korea Industrial Production YoY

Year-over-year change in Korea's all-industry production index excluding agriculture and fishing. Covering both manufacturing and services output, it reads the real economy faster than quarterly GDP.

Korea Retail Sales YoY

Year-over-year change in Korea's real retail sales index, adjusted for price changes. Because it measures volumes rather than spending in won, it is the cleaner read on household consumption strength.

US Personal Saving Rate

The share of US disposable personal income households save rather than spend. A falling saving rate supports current consumption but leaves less cushion to absorb future income shocks.

US Capacity Utilization

The share of sustainable US industrial capacity actually in use. Rising utilization means less slack, which typically arrives with building price pressure and stronger demand for capital investment.

Korea Treasury 3Y

The yield on 3-year Korea Treasury Bonds, the benchmark of the domestic bond market. It is the most sensitive to expected policy-rate changes, showing how the market reads the direction of monetary policy.

Korea Unemployment Rate

The share of Korea's economically active population that is looking for work but not employed. Published monthly, it is the baseline gauge of the labor cycle, domestic demand, and the household income base.

US 30Y Mortgage Rate

The average rate on 30-year fixed US mortgages. It tracks Treasury yields and feeds straight into housing affordability, transaction volume, and construction activity.

US Fed Balance Sheet

Total assets held by the Federal Reserve, published weekly. A shrinking balance sheet means quantitative tightening and an expanding one means liquidity provision, setting the direction of global funding conditions.

US Fed Reverse Repo

The balance parked in the New York Fed's overnight reverse repo facility. It absorbs short-term cash with nowhere better to go, so the level tracks how much money-market liquidity slack remains.

Kimchi Premium

The percentage by which bitcoin trades higher on Korean exchanges than the global price converted at the won exchange rate. A widening premium signals overheating demand and crowding inside Korea.

Korea House Price Index

The monthly index of nationwide Korean house sale prices, covering apartments, row houses, and detached homes. Since property is most of household wealth, it links directly to spending capacity and financial stability.

Seoul Apartment Price Index

The monthly index of Seoul apartment sale prices. Apartments dominate Korean household wealth and Seoul is the first target of property policy, so the series tracks both policy impact and household sentiment.

US Core CPI YoY

Year-over-year US consumer inflation excluding volatile food and energy. By filtering out temporary shocks it shows the underlying trend, which is what the Federal Reserve weighs most in policy decisions.

Korea Jeonse Price Index

The monthly index of nationwide jeonse (lease deposit) prices in Korea. Because jeonse reflects end-user demand rather than investment demand, it frames housing cost burden and the floor under sale prices.

US Labor Force Participation

The share of the US working-age population either employed or actively seeking work. It reveals structural shifts in labor supply — retirements and returns — that the unemployment rate alone conceals.

US Federal Debt

Total US federal public debt outstanding at quarter end. It sets the backdrop for Treasury issuance volumes and fiscal sustainability debates, a structural source of upward pressure on long-term yields.

Korea Treasury 5Y

The five-year Korea Treasury yield, the belly of the curve between the 3-year and 10-year points. It frames medium-term funding conditions and helps read changes in the shape of the yield curve.

KR Bank Deposit Rate

The average rate Korean banks pay on newly received savings deposits. It shows how fast policy-rate changes reach household interest income and frames the choice between deposits and investment.

KR Bank Lending Rate

The average rate Korean banks charge on newly extended loans. Closer to what households and firms actually pay than the policy rate, it measures how far rate changes are passing through to the real economy.

KR Loan-Deposit Spread

The gap between the rates Korean banks charge on new loans and pay on new deposits. It is the source of bank interest margin and shows how the burden splits between savers and borrowers.

Korea Treasury 1Y

The one-year Korea Treasury yield, the short-end maturity that prices Bank of Korea policy expectations most directly. Its gap to the policy rate shows how much easing or tightening the market has already priced in.

Korea Core CPI YoY

Year-over-year change in Korea's consumer prices excluding agricultural products and oils. Stripping out volatile items reveals the underlying inflation trend, which the Bank of Korea weighs more heavily than headline CPI when setting rates.

KR Expected Inflation

One-year-ahead expected inflation from the Bank of Korea's consumer survey. Because household expectations feed into wage and price setting in a self-fulfilling way, policymakers watch this sentiment gauge nearly as closely as realized inflation.

Korea Trade Balance

Korea's customs-basis trade balance, exports minus imports, in billions of dollars. Shaped heavily by semiconductor exports and energy import prices, swings between surplus and deficit set the backdrop for the won and foreign investor flows.

Korea Employment Rate

The share of Korea's working-age population that is employed. It fills the blind spot where discouraged workers make the unemployment rate look deceptively low, so reading both together gives a truer picture of labor-market strength.

KOSPI Dividend Yield

The market-average dividend yield of KOSPI-listed companies. Compared against deposit and treasury yields it anchors the relative appeal of equities, and its direction draws particular attention when shareholder-return policies are shifting.

US 10Y-3M Spread

The spread between 10-year and 3-month US Treasury yields. Validated by the New York Fed and academic research as the curve with the strongest recession-forecasting record, with the re-steepening after a long inversion historically the more dangerous phase.

US 30Y Treasury

The 30-year US Treasury yield, the maturity where term premium and fiscal-deficit supply pressure weigh most. As the reference for mortgage rates and ultra-long discount rates, sharp rises squeeze equity valuations across the board.

US 10Y Breakeven

Breakeven inflation: the nominal 10-year Treasury yield minus the 10-year TIPS real yield. It is the average inflation bond markets have priced for the next decade, revealing how much the market trusts the Fed to hold its inflation target.

US Sahm Rule

The three-month average unemployment rate minus its low over the prior twelve months. Famous for the rule of thumb that a reading above 0.5 percentage points marks the start of a recession, it is built to catch how joblessness accelerates once it starts rising.

US Case-Shiller Index

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national index tracks repeat sales of the same homes, making it resistant to shifts in transaction mix and the closest read on how US house prices actually feel. Through wealth effects it links to the consumer outlook.

US Median Home Price

The quarterly median price of houses actually sold in the United States. Because it shifts with the mix of homes transacted — rising when high-end sales dominate — it is best read against the quality-controlled Case-Shiller index to confirm turning points.

US Vehicle Sales

Total US vehicle sales at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in millions of units. Alongside housing it is the classic big-ticket durable purchase, so this monthly series shows how quickly rate and credit conditions pass through to consumers.

US 5Y Treasury

The 5-year US Treasury yield, the belly of the curve where multi-year policy-rate expectations meet term premium. It is often the maturity that reacts most sharply when the market rewrites its Federal Reserve outlook.

US 3M Treasury

The 3-month US Treasury bill yield from the official daily curve. Hugging the federal funds rate almost one for one, it anchors the short end, forms the base of the 10Y-3M recession spread, and prices the opportunity cost of holding cash.

US 10Y Real Yield

The 10-year US TIPS real yield — the inflation-adjusted discount rate on long-duration assets. Because it strips expected inflation out of the nominal yield, it is the most direct measure of the pressure squeezing gold and growth-stock valuations.

US 1Y Treasury

The 1-year US Treasury yield from the official daily yield curve. This maturity distills how much Federal Reserve easing or tightening the market prices over the coming year, a clean read on the expected policy path just beyond the front end.

US 20Y Treasury

The 20-year US Treasury yield from the official daily curve. Sitting in the ultra-long sector where deficits, duration supply, and long-horizon demand collide, it moves most alongside the 30-year whenever term premium rebuilds.

US 5Y Real Yield

The 5-year US TIPS real yield from the official daily real curve. As the inflation-adjusted discount rate over the medium term it captures the real bite of Fed policy, reacting to shifts in the expected rate path faster than the 10-year real yield.

US 5Y Breakeven

Five-year breakeven inflation — the nominal 5-year Treasury yield minus the 5-year TIPS real yield. It is the average inflation the market prices for the next five years, reacting to near-term inflation shocks and oil more sharply than the 10-year breakeven.

US 5y5y Forward Inflation

The 5-year, 5-year forward inflation expectation — average inflation priced for the five years starting five years from now, approximated from the 10-year and 5-year breakevens. Stripping out near-term shocks, it tests the Fed's long-run inflation credibility.

US 7Y Treasury

The 7-year US Treasury yield from the official daily curve. Sitting between the 5- and 10-year, it is the corridor through which curve-shape changes pass, and a tenor notorious for soft auction demand — a useful read on Treasury supply-demand temperature.

US 30Y Real Yield

The 30-year US TIPS real yield — the inflation-adjusted discount rate at the longest horizon. It is where pension and insurer liability-matching demand meets the fiscal premium, and the final benchmark for valuing ultra-long-duration assets.

USDT Kimchi Premium

The premium of Upbit's USDT/KRW price over the USD/KRW exchange rate. With less coin-specific supply-demand noise than the Bitcoin kimchi premium, it is the purer measure of won money paying up to enter the crypto market.

Gold-Silver Ratio

How many ounces of silver one ounce of gold buys — the gold price divided by the silver price. A rising ratio points to defensive demand, while a falling ratio suggests industrial demand and risk appetite are leading.

Copper/Gold Ratio

Copper per pound divided by gold per ounce, scaled by one thousand. Setting the growth-sensitive metal against the safe-haven metal compresses growth expectations into one line that has historically tracked long-term US Treasury yields.