Quarterly Update on the Special Data Dissemination Standard

Second Quarter 2011

September 13, 2011

Observance Status

As of the end of the second quarter of 2011, all 68 SDDS subscribers were in observance of the SDDS requirements for the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and for the dissemination of advance release calendars (ARCs) (Table 1). The IMF's Dissemination Standards Bulletin Board (DSBB) disseminates a complete list of SDDS subscribers.

Table 1. SDDS Indicators
Indicators	As of June 30, 2010	As of March 31, 2011	As of June 30, 2011
Number of subscribers	68	68	68
Number of countries officially in observance¹	68	68	68
¹Observance of the requirements of the SDDS with respect to the coverage, periodicity, and timeliness of the data and the use of ARCs. Other elements of the SDDS dealing with the integrity and quality of the data are on a self-disclosure basis, with subscribers providing information on which users can make their own judgments. A subscriber experiencing difficulties in meeting SDDS requirements is not automatically in ''nonobservance'' of the SDDS. When deviations from SDDS requirements occur, the IMF staff tries to resolve the issue with the subscriber, and then, if necessary, through the Executive Director. If these efforts fail, the matter is brought to the attention of the subscriber’s Governor for the Fund. A subscriber is officially declared in ''nonobservance'' only when a note to that effect is posted on the DSBB.

Monitoring Punctuality of Data Releases

The IMF monitors the punctuality of data releases of each SDDS subscriber. Punctuality is monitored by comparing the first appearance of new information on the subscriber’s National Summary Data Page (NSDP) against the last release date announced in the subscriber’s ARC for each of the SDDS data categories. The ARC release dates should meet the SDDS timeliness requirements for the various data categories. Table 2 contains monitoring results for the second quarter of 2011, showing comparisons with results for the first quarter of 2011, and those for the second quarter of 2010. Year on year, the punctuality of data releases for the second quarter of 2011 increased for annual data and for quarterly data (except for unemployment, wages and earnings, and central government debt), but decreased for monthly data (except for production index, consumer prices, producer prices, central government operations, and reserves template). Quarter on quarter, the punctuality of data releases for the second quarter of 2011 increased for monthly data (except for analytical accounts of the central bank, and official reserves), for quarterly data (except for employment, and wages and earnings), and for annual data.

Compared with historical averages since the third quarter of 2000, when monitoring was introduced, the punctuality of data releases for the second quarter of 2011 increased for annual data and for quarterly data (except for wages and earnings), but decreased for monthly data (except for production index, consumer prices, producer prices, central government operations, reserves template, and merchandise trade).

Table 2. Monitoring Punctuality of Data Releases Quarter 3 2000 – Quarter 2 2011¹
Data Categories	Historical Average since Q3/00 (standard deviation)	Q2/10 Revised	Q1/11 Revised	Q2/11
Monthly data	89.8 (3.7)	90.2	88.2	89.6
Production index	91.2 (4.4)	90.0	93.5	94.1
Consumer prices	94.0 (3.7)	93.5	94.4	95.5
Producer prices	92.0 (3.6)	90.4	90.9	95.0
Central government operations	80.8 (4.9)	80.9	78.5	82.6
Analytical accounts of banking sector	89.7 (4.1)	94.0	88.5	89.0
Analytical accounts of central bank	89.7 (5.1)	91.8	85.1	83.7
Official reserves	89.3 (3.8)	88.2	82.7	79.6
Reserves template	91.0 (4.4)	89.6	91.6	94.5
Merchandise trade	91.0 (4.4)	93.1	88.7	92.6
Quarterly data	89.9 (4.8)	91.7	90.9	93.8
National accounts	89.9 (6.9)	89.6	89.9	98.5
Employment	91.5 (4.8)	93.7	95.5	94.6
Unemployment	92.1 (4.2)	93.7	93.5	93.5
Wages and earnings	89.8 (5.5)	88.5	92.0	87.5
Central government debt	84.2 (6.1)	91.2	83.8	89.1
Balance of payments	92.2 (5.2)	94.7	93.8	99.0
External debt	89.6 (4.7)	90.5	87.8	94.5
Annual data	83.5 (3.6)	85.1	83.8	88.7
General government operations	79.0 (6.3)	81.0	76.3	82.7
International investment position	87.2 (5.2)	89.1	91.3	94.7
¹Percentage of data categories subscribers disseminated on their NSDP in accordance with SDDS timeliness requirements (quarterly averages).

On July 28, 2011, a Notice on Argentina’s Observance of the SDDS was posted in the What’s New? section of the DSBB. The notice now states: “In the course of its regular monitoring of the observance of subscribers' undertakings under the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS), Fund staff has determined that Argentina is not, as required under the SDDS legal framework, disseminating in its Data Template on International Reserves and Foreign Currency Liquidity (the "Reserves Template") data on financial instruments denominated in foreign currencies (exchange-traded futures) and settled by other means, including domestic currency. Fund staff is working to resolve this issue in accordance with the procedures set out in the SDDS decision and, in that context, has brought this matter to the attention of Argentina's Governor of the Fund. In response, the authorities and IMF staff are in communication to address the issue.”