upwardsloping

Upward-sloping is a term used to describe a graph, line, or curve that rises as the independent variable increases. In two-dimensional plots, a positive slope indicates upward sloping behavior, with dy/dx > 0 at points along the curve.

In economics, upward-sloping supply curves reflect the tendency for producers to offer more of a good as its price rises, due to increasing marginal costs, capacity constraints, or other frictions. In some market conditions, demand curves can also be upward sloping, though this is less typical and usually tied to special effects like Giffen goods or Veblen goods.

In finance, an upward-sloping yield curve occurs when longer-term interest rates exceed shorter-term rates, often signaling expectations of higher inflation or stronger future growth. The term structure can also be upward sloping for other assets with maturity or duration variables.

In statistics and econometrics, an upward-sloping relationship describes a positive association between two variables. A regression line with a positive slope indicates that increases in one variable tend to be associated with increases in the other.

Mathematically, upward sloping may describe any monotone increasing function; the steepness (absolute value of the slope) measures how rapidly the dependent variable rises with the independent variable.

Because axis orientation matters, a graph can appear upward sloping even if the underlying relationship is nonmonotone along different ranges. As with any graph, context and units are essential for interpretation.