MS Excel: FORECAST Function (WS)

In Microsoft Excel, the FORECAST function returns a prediction of a future value based on existing values provided.

Syntax

The syntax for the FORECAST function is:

FORECAST( x-value, known_y_values, known_x_values )

x-value is the x-value used to predict the y-value.

known_y_values is the known y-values used to predict the y-value.

known_x_values is the known x-values used to predict the y-value.

Note

• If x-value is not a numeric value, the FORECAST function will return the #VALUE! error.
• If known_y_values and known_x_values contain different numbers of elements, the FORECAST function will return the #N/A error.

Applies To

• Excel 2013, Excel 2011 for Mac, Excel 2010, Excel 2007, Excel 2003, Excel XP, Excel 2000

Type of Function

• Worksheet function (WS)

Worksheet Function Example

Let's take a look at an example to see how you would use the FORECAST function in a worksheet:

Based on the Excel spreadsheet above, the FORECAST function would return the following: