Python pandas dataframe print ValueError: could not convert string to float: '1,971.25'

Question

I have a python pandas dataframe that should print with the following line:

close.loc[stock, str(j)+'_days_ago'] = float(stocks.iloc[[-1 - j]]['Close'].to_string(header=None, index=None))

yet I get the following error:

ValueError: could not convert string to float: '1,971.25'

Any ideas how to fix this error?

It can't convert the value to a string. You can try to remove the comma's, then converting to float will be possible. To do this with your series: df['column_name'].str.replace(',', '') — Rik Kraan
– Rik Kraan, Commented Nov 15, 2020 at 14:26

Stefan · Accepted Answer · 2020-11-15 14:26:16Z

1

You have to remove the , form the string (provided your decimal separator is the ..

I.e. use

float('1,971.25'.replace(',', ''))

In your code it should be

close.loc[stock, str(j)+'_days_ago'] = float(stocks.iloc[[-1 - j]]['Close'].to_string(header=None, index=None).replace(',', ''))

answered Nov 15, 2020 at 14:26

Stefan

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