# Python Charts This initial chart is a self‐contained toolkit that: * Fetches U.S. unemployment rate (UNRATE) and WTI crude oil price (DCOILWTICO) from FRED :contentReference[oaicite:1]{index=1} * Stores the series in a local SQLite database (`data/fred.db`) :contentReference[oaicite:2]{index=2} * Produces a dual‐axis plot of unemployment vs. lagged oil price, with customizable lag, date range, and styling :contentReference[oaicite:3]{index=3} --- ## 🚀 Quickstart ```bash # Clone the repo git clone https://github.com/your-org/python_charts.git cd python_charts # One‐command: install deps, download data, and plot ./startup.sh --offset 12 --end 2025-05-31 --extend-years 5 ```` This will: 1. Upgrade `pip` & `setuptools` globally 2. Install required packages from `requirements.txt` via ```bash pip install --upgrade -r requirements.txt ``` 3. Download UNRATE & DCOILWTICO into `data/fred.db` if missing ([Stack Overflow][3], [martinheinz.dev][4]) 4. Generate the chart with a 12‐month oil lead, extending the x‐axis by 5 years ([martinheinz.dev][4], [Real Python][1]) --- ## 📁 Repository Structure ``` python_charts/ ├── data/ │ └── fred.db # Local FRED snapshot (SQLite) ├── scripts/ │ ├── __init__.py # Marks this folder as a Python package │ ├── common.py # Data‐loading, validation, and save_figure utils │ ├── refresh_data.py # Downloads and stores FRED series │ ├── lagged_oil_unrate_chart_styled.py # Offline plot of UNRATE vs. WTI oil with lag │ ├── bitcoin_m2_chart.py # Plot Bitcoin vs. Global M2 overlay │ └── custom_chart.py # Generic plotting for arbitrary FRED series ├── outputs/ # Generated chart files (PNGs) ├── Makefile # High‐level targets (install, data, plot, etc.) ├── startup.sh # Installs dependencies, ensures data, runs commands ├── requirements.txt # Python dependencies └── README.md # This file ``` > **Note:** An empty `scripts/__init__.py` file has been added so that Python treats `scripts/` as a package. Because of this, each script can import `common.py` via: > > ```python > from common import fetch_series_db, save_figure, validate_dataframe, validate_overlap > ``` > > rather than `from scripts.common import …`. ([Real Python][1], [Software Engineering Stack Exchange][2]) --- ## ⚙️ Usage ### 1. Refresh FRED Data To refresh (or initially populate) the SQLite database with FRED series, run: ```bash ./startup.sh python scripts/refresh_data.py --series UNRATE CPIAUCSL --start 1960-01-01 --output outputs/chart.png ``` This command: * Connects to FRED via `pandas_datareader` * Downloads the specified series (e.g., `UNRATE` and `CPIAUCSL`) from the start date through today * Writes each series to its own table in `data/fred.db` * Saves a PNG of any default plot (if `--output` is provided) to `outputs/` ([Stack Overflow][3], [GitHub][5]) #### `refresh_data.py` options | Option | Description | | ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------- | | `--series` | One or more FRED series names (e.g., UNRATE, DCOILWTICO) | | `--start` | Start date in `YYYY-MM-DD` format | | `--end` | End date in `YYYY-MM-DD` format (defaults to today) | ##### Example: ```bash ./startup.sh python scripts/refresh_data.py --series UNRATE DCOILWTICO CBBTCUSD GLOBAL_M2 --start 1973-01-01 ``` This populates `fred.db` with four series (UNRATE, WTI, Bitcoin, and Global M2). ([Stack Overflow][3], [martinheinz.dev][4]) --- ### 2. Generate the Default UNRATE vs. Oil Chart Once data is present, generate the dual‐axis plot of UNRATE vs. lagged WTI oil price: ```bash # Default: 18‐month lag, default date range (1973‐01‐01 to today), and 3‐year extension ./startup.sh python scripts/lagged_oil_unrate_chart_styled.py --offset 18 ``` * The script will: 1. Import `UNRATE` and `DCOILWTICO` from `fred.db` via: ```python from common import fetch_series_db, save_figure, validate_dataframe, validate_overlap ``` ([Real Python][1], [Software Engineering Stack Exchange][2]) 2. Convert both series to month‐end indices, resample oil to a monthly average, and align their date ranges. 3. Validate that neither series is empty, contains `NaN`, or has no overlap (raising a `ValueError` if any issue). 4. Apply the specified lag (e.g., 18 months), then plot UNRATE on the left y‐axis (3%–15%, ticks every 2%) and log-scaled WTI on the right y‐axis (doubling ticks). 5. Save the figure to `outputs/lagged_oil_unrate_chart_styled_.png` (unless `--output` is specified). ([martinheinz.dev][4], [Real Python][1]) #### Customizing the UNRATE vs. Oil Chart ```bash # 6‐month lag, start in 1980, end in 2025‐05‐31, extend by 2 years ./startup.sh python scripts/lagged_oil_unrate_chart_styled.py --offset 6 --start 1980-01-01 --end 2025-05-31 --extend-years 2 ``` | Option | Description | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | `--offset` | Lag in months (positive means oil is shifted forward relative to UNRATE) | | `--start` | Start date for both series (`YYYY-MM-DD`) | | `--end` | End date for both series (`YYYY-MM-DD`) | | `--extend-years` | Number of years to extend the x‐axis beyond the end date | | `--output` | Save the figure to this path (PNG or PDF) | > **Note:** If you do not specify `--output`, `save_figure(...)` creates a timestamped PNG in `outputs/` by default: > `outputs/lagged_oil_unrate_chart_styled_20250531_121045.png` ([Python Packaging][6], [Real Python][1]) --- ## Custom Charts You can plot any combination of FRED series stored in `data/fred.db` using `scripts/custom_chart.py`. Each column in the DataFrame is plotted on a shared axis. ```bash # Example: plot both UNRATE and WTI Oil from 2000 through 2020 ./startup.sh python scripts/custom_chart.py --series UNRATE DCOILWTICO --start 2000-01-01 --end 2020-12-31 ``` * Internally, `custom_chart.py` invokes: ```python from common import fetch_series_db, save_figure ``` to load the requested series and save the figure. * The same invocation is available via Make: ````bash make plot-custom ARGS="--series UNRATE DCOILWTICO --start 2000-01-01 --end 2020-12-31" ``` :contentReference[oaicite:12]{index=12} ```` --- ### Bitcoin vs. Global M2 After downloading the required series, generate the Bitcoin‐Global M2 overlay chart: ```bash ./startup.sh python scripts/bitcoin_m2_chart.py --btc-series CBBTCUSD --m2-series GLOBAL_M2 --output outputs/chart.png ``` * This script: 1. Imports both series from `fred.db` with: ```python from common import fetch_series_db, save_figure ``` ([Real Python][1], [Software Engineering Stack Exchange][2]) 2. Renames each column to `"value"` for consistency. 3. Finds the overlapping date range, shifts M2 by `--offset-days` (default = 94 days), and overlays the two series on dual axes. 4. Saves the figure—e.g., `outputs/bitcoin_m2_chart_20250531_090608.png` ([martinheinz.dev][4], [Real Python][1]) > **CLI Options for `bitcoin_m2_chart.py`:** > > | Option | Default | Description | > | ---------------- | ------------ | ------------------------------------------------ | > | `--btc-series` | `CBBTCUSD` | FRED series code for Bitcoin price | > | `--m2-series` | `GLOBAL_M2` | FRED series code for global M2 money supply | > | `--start` | `2010-01-01` | Start date for fetching both series | > | `--end` | Today | End date for fetching both series | > | `--offset-days` | `94` | Shift M2 by this many days (positive → M2 leads) | > | `--extend-years` | `1` | Years beyond `end` to extend the x‐axis | > | `--output` | None | Optional path to save the figure (PNG/PDF) | --- ## 📝 Details * **Data storage**: * `data/fred.db` (SQLite) contains one table per FRED series—each table has columns `date` (as the index) and `` for the value ([Stack Overflow][3], [martinheinz.dev][4]). * **Plot styling**: * **Lagged oil vs. UNRATE chart**: * Left y‐axis: Unemployment rate (%) from 3% to 15%, with tick marks every 2% * Right y‐axis: WTI oil price (USD) on a log scale; ticks double starting at \$3 (i.e., 3, 6, 12, 24, etc.) ([martinheinz.dev][4], [Real Python][1]) * X‐axis: Major tick every 5 years, minor tick every year; format ticks as `%Y` (e.g., 1980, 1985, 1990) ([Real Python][1], [martinheinz.dev][4]) * **Bitcoin vs. Global M2 chart**: * Left y‐axis: Bitcoin price (USD) as a linear scale * Right y‐axis: Global M2 (billions of USD) as a linear scale * X‐axis: Same date formatting as above (major = every 5 years, minor = yearly) ([Real Python][1], [martinheinz.dev][4]) * **Utility functions in `common.py`**: * `fetch_series_db(series_list, start, end, db_path)` * Opens `data/fred.db`, reads each series table, slices by date range, and concatenates into a single DataFrame, sorted by date. Raises `FileNotFoundError` if `fred.db` is missing. ([Stack Overflow][3], [martinheinz.dev][4]) * `validate_dataframe(df, name)` * Confirms the DataFrame is nonempty, has a `"value"` column, contains no nulls, and uses a `DatetimeIndex`. Raises `ValueError` otherwise. ([devgem.io][7], [Real Python][1]) * `validate_overlap(df1, df2)` * Checks for a nonempty overlap in dates between two series; raises `ValueError` if there is no intersection. ([devgem.io][7], [Real Python][1]) * `save_figure(fig, output, script_path)` * Saves the Matplotlib `Figure` to either the given `output` path or `outputs/