Method of smoothing of time series by partial elimination of periodic fluctuations (if any) and random fluctuations. The technique of smoothing a series by moving averages consists in substituting the empirical values of the variable with the arithmetic means calculated sequentially for the selected number of observations. Moving averages are usually calculated from a certain number of adjacent elements of the series so that the result can be attributed to the integer value in the center of the range included in the calculation. By smoothing out the series with the moving averages we get a series with fewer observations. As the smoothing range increases, the effect of time series adjustment increases.

• Smoothing parameter
• Arithmetic mean
• Periodic fluctuations (seasonal)
• Random fluctuations