ConsumerSim Forecast Interface

ConsumerSim provides consumer confidence forecasts for three markets:

• US

• EU27

• JP

Users can access the forecasts in two ways:

• View the public forecast website hosted from this repository.

• Connect to the MCP server and ask for forecasts by region, month, and optional week.

This repository is an interface package only. It does not publish the private forecasting pipeline, model prompts, data refresh logic, source API keys, or private datasets.

What You Can Ask For

Use forecast_lookup when you need a forecast value.

Monthly forecast:

{
  "region": "US",
  "month": "2026-07"
}

Weekly forecast:

{
  "region": "EU27",
  "month": "2026-07",
  "week": 1
}

Supported inputs:

• region: US, EU27, or JP

• month: target month in YYYY-MM format

• week: optional week number within that month, such as 1, 2, 3, or 4

Use forecast_times to see which forecast periods are available.

{
  "region": "JP"
}

Related MCP server: Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) MCP Server

Typical Response

forecast_lookup returns a forecast snapshot like this:

{
  "region": "EU27",
  "cadence": "weekly",
  "requested_month": "2026-06",
  "requested_week": "Jun W4",
  "target_month": "2026-07",
  "target_period": "Jul-26",
  "week_label": "Jun W4",
  "as_of": "2026-07-04",
  "forecast": -13.32,
  "interval_low": -14.71,
  "interval_high": -12.39,
  "signal": "Softening signal",
  "interpretation": "Weekly nowcast through 2026-06-27 from the ConsumerSim pipeline."
}

The exact fields may vary by backend version, but the response is designed to include the requested region and time, the forecast value, a confidence band, and a short interpretation.

Run As An MCP Server

Install the package:

python -m pip install -e .

Configure the private backend endpoint:

$env:CONSUMERSIM_API_BASE_URL = "https://your-consumersim-backend.example.com"
$env:CONSUMERSIM_API_KEY = "<your access token>"

Start the MCP server:

consumersim-mcp

The MCP server exposes:

• forecast_lookup

• forecast_times

It forwards requests to the configured ConsumerSim backend and returns the backend result to the MCP client.

Run The Website Locally

The website is a static forecast dashboard under site/.

For a local preview backed by the private API:

python -m pip install -e .
$env:CONSUMERSIM_API_BASE_URL = "https://your-consumersim-backend.example.com"
$env:CONSUMERSIM_API_KEY = "<your access token>"
consumersim-web

Open:

http://127.0.0.1:4173

The local web bridge serves the static site and proxies /api/site-data to the private backend. This keeps backend credentials out of browser JavaScript.

Public Website Deployment

The recommended public deployment is GitHub Pages.

The included workflow:

.github/workflows/refresh-site.yml

does the following:

1. Calls the private backend for the latest forecast CSV.

2. Validates the CSV structure.

3. Writes the result to site/data/consumersim_site_data.csv.

4. Commits the updated CSV when it changes.

5. Deploys the site/ directory to GitHub Pages.

Repository setup:

• Set Pages source to GitHub Actions.

• Allow GitHub Actions Read and write permissions.

• Add CONSUMERSIM_API_BASE_URL as a repository variable.

• Add CONSUMERSIM_API_KEY as a repository secret if the backend requires a token.

Do not put source data API keys or model API keys in GitHub. Those belong only on the private backend server.

Backend Settings

Required:

• CONSUMERSIM_API_BASE_URL

Usually required:

• CONSUMERSIM_API_KEY

Optional:

• CONSUMERSIM_FORECAST_PATH, default /forecast

• CONSUMERSIM_TIMES_PATH, default /forecast/times

• CONSUMERSIM_SITE_DATA_PATH, default /site-data

• CONSUMERSIM_API_KEY_HEADER, default Authorization

• CONSUMERSIM_API_KEY_SCHEME, default Bearer

• CONSUMERSIM_TIMEOUT_SECONDS, default 30

Backend Contract

The proxy calls these backend routes:

• POST {CONSUMERSIM_API_BASE_URL}/forecast

• GET {CONSUMERSIM_API_BASE_URL}/forecast/times

• GET {CONSUMERSIM_API_BASE_URL}/site-data

Expected POST /forecast request:

{
  "region": "EU27",
  "month": "2026-06",
  "week": 4
}

Expected GET /site-data response:

as_of,record_type,region,...
2026-07-04,monthly_prediction,us,...

Repository Boundary

This public repository should contain only:

• MCP proxy code

• public website assets

• GitHub Pages refresh workflow

• tests for the public interface

• examples and documentation for users

Do not commit:

• private forecasting pipeline code

• model prompts or internal simulation logic

• private data refresh scripts

• source API keys

• LLM API keys

• private datasets

The private backend can update forecasts without exposing the internal ConsumerSim implementation.