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Data & Analytics · Foundational

Moving Average

The average of the most recent n periods, recalculated each period to smooth short-term fluctuations and reveal trends.

Definition

Simple moving averages weight periods equally, while weighted and exponential versions emphasize recent data. A 7-day moving average removes day-of-week effects. Moving averages lag turning points.

Example

AVG(sales) OVER (ORDER BY day ROWS BETWEEN 6 PRECEDING AND CURRENT ROW)

Exam tip

A 7-period moving average on daily data removes weekly seasonality.

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