Nothing new was published since 2026-10-06, so this issue carries 3 insights and 1 metric move from the last four weeks that have not appeared in an issue yet. Each figure below links to the page that shows its source, series, period and history.
Insights
- US Department of Energy contract obligations (United States) rose 13.56% in 2025-10-01, an unusually large annual move
US Department of Energy contract obligations for United States was 55,135,013,856 US dollars in 2025-10-01, up 6,585,675,477 US dollars (+13.56%) from 48,549,338,379 in 2024-10-01; that change ranks in the 94th percentile of annual changes recorded since 2007-10-01.
ObservedUS Department of Energy contract obligationsUnited States2025-10-01
- US total public debt outstanding (United States) rose 0.22% in 2026-10-01, an unusually large daily move
US total public debt outstanding for United States was 40,260,641,972,390 US dollars in 2026-10-01, up 88,816,871,050 US dollars (+0.22%) from 40,171,825,101,340 in 2026-09-30; that change ranks in the 99th percentile of daily changes recorded since 1993-04-01.
ObservedUS total public debt outstandingUnited States2026-10-01
- US generation capacity additions, solar (United States) fell 30.75% in 2026-08-01, an unusually large monthly move
US generation capacity additions, solar for United States was 1,292.9 MW in 2026-08-01, down 574 MW (-30.75%) from 1,866.9 in 2026-07-01; that change ranks in the 96th percentile of monthly changes recorded since 1891-01-01.
ObservedUS generation capacity additions, solarUnited States2026-08-01
Biggest moves
Rose 4.7% in 2026-06-01, the largest rise since 2025.
14.48 cents per kilowatthour in 2026-06-01 · +0.65 cents per kilowatthour (+4.7%) · from 13.83 in 2026-05-01
observations 410784, 245923 · score 409
Featured chart
R&D share of GDP rose from 1.96 percent in 1996 to 2.6 percent in 2023; researchers per million rose from 1,080.91 researchers per million people in 2000 to 1,651.59 researchers per million people in 2020 (World).Observed
What to watch
- The next US Department of Energy contract obligations observation (2026-10-01): a change no larger than the median annual change of +1,510,433,102 US dollars, or a move back the other way, would mean the latest change has normalised. - GDP per person, constant 2015 US$, currently 67,945.61 constant 2015 US$ per person in 2025: a move the other way lowers the breadth component. - General government gross debt (IMF WEO), currently 123.89 percent of GDP in 2025: a move the other way lowers the breadth component. - Labor hours per 100 gallons of gasoline, currently 11.52 hours in 2026-09-01: a move the other way lowers the breadth component. - Revisions: a revised 2025-10-01 value would arrive