does the demand curve slope downward or upward 
the demand curve generally slopes downward from left to right illustrating that as the price of a good rises the demand for it falls however there are exceptions to the rule for giffen goods and veblen goods for example in both cases rising prices tend to accompany a rise in demand leading to a demand curve that rises from left to right the bottom linea demand curve is a graphic display of the change in demand for a good resulting from a change in price in a given time period on the demand curve graph the vertical axis denotes the price and the horizontal axis denotes the quantity demanded a demand curve can be a useful business tool because it can show the prices at which consumers start buying less or more it can also point out the prices at which a company can maintain consumer demand and earn reasonable profits 