One source is the data logged by the auctions. This includes consumer and producer bid values, time of bid arrivals, number and time of transactions, as well as clearing prices. From this information, summary data such as bidding frequency, average price, and price variance can be produced.
Another source of market data is the original service request from an agent. Sometimes the Auction Manager can exactly match an agent to a market, otherwise the agent has to participate in a near-match market. However, in the second case, the Auction Manager knows both the original service demanded and that an exact match for that service could not be found. This information may be valuable to sellers, upon being made aware of unmet demands by buyers for services, they could estimate whether it would be worthwhile be willing to invest in developing or specializing their agents to meet that demand. By collecting and providing this kind of data about current market activity and demand for services, the Auction Manager can provide agents with information on which to base their decisions about how to trade their services or when it may be worthwhile to develop new ones.
Such market data can be used offline to evaluate the effect that different market creation and selection policies had on the market configuration and resulting system efficiency and welfare. However, exactly under what circumstances this information should be made available, and to whom, depends on the commerce community and is a matter of market policy.