Business cycles are measured as follows:

• The period from peak to peak – this can be months or years.
• The period from the trough to the next peak.
• The amplitude, which indicates the difference in economic activities from peak to trough.
• The gradient, which can be steeply upward, a level line, or have a downward slope, indicating that the economy has produced less over time.

The Reserve Bank has leading, coincident and lagging indicators of the business cycle. You can check out the March 2026 report here. The components of the leading indicator show the following: some indicate an upswing in the business cycle, others a downswing, and one was unavailable.

They express this as an index number.