
Chapter 16
PB
Time Series and Index Numbers
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16.10 SMOOTHING TECHNIQUES
The main objective of the smoothing technique is to “smooth out” the random variations due to
the irregular uctuation in the time-series data. Various methods are available to smooth out the
random variations due to irregular uctuations, so that the resulting series may have a better over-
all impression of the pattern of movement in the data over a speci ed period. In this section, we
will focus on three methods of smoothing: moving averages method, weighted moving averages
method, and semi-averages method.
16.10.1 Moving Averages Method
The method of averages is used ...