I was reading about the coefficient of variation and it seems that it can only be computed for ratios (non-negative values). I have a list of values which indicate the % increase in a particular quantity. In certain rare cases, there is a decrease, and as a result the % increase is a negative value.
Does this mean that I cannot use the coefficient of variation on my dataset? Are there any other robust inferences I can make to understand the nature of variation in my dataset?