consumer price index

Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The CPI, as it is called, measures the prices of consumer goods and services and is a measure of the pace of US inflation. The US Department of Labor publishes the CPI every month.

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consumer price index (CPI)

A measure of the relative cost of living compared with a base period (currently 1982-84). The CPI can be a misleading indicator of the impact of inflation on an individual because it is based on the spending patterns of an urban family of four. Also called price index. Compare producer price index. See also GDP deflator.

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Consumer Price Index

A measure of inflation in the United States that considers what people spend on staple goods and services. It is calculated by taking the average of changes in price to a basket of goods and services compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor. The goods and services in the basket are weighted according to their perceived importance. The CPI is considered a primary tool in determining how people are experiencing inflation.

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Consumer price index (CPI). The consumer price index (CPI) is compiled monthly by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and is a gauge of inflation that measures changes in the prices of basic goods and services.

Some of the things it tracks are housing, food, clothing, transportation, medical care, and education.

The CPI is used as a benchmark for making adjustments in Social Security payments, wages, pensions, and tax brackets to keep them in tune with the buying power of the dollar. It's often incorrectly referred to as the cost-of-living index.

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consumer price index (CPI)

A Bureau of Labor Statistics'(www.bls.gov/cpi/) inflation calculator;it is the most widely known index for measuring economic performance and inflation in the United States. The CPI measures and compares the total cost of a statistically determined “typical market basket”of goods and services consumed by U.S.households against the cost for the same goods and services consumed in the base period 1982-1984. The contents of the “market basket” are determined by the Consumer Expenditure Survey of about 10,000 families and their spending habits over a period of time.

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Consumer Price Index (CPI)

What Does Consumer Price Index (CPI) Mean?

A measure that examines the weighted average of prices of a basket of consumer goods and services such as transportation, food, and medical care. CPI is calculated by taking price changes for each item in the predetermined basket of goods and averaging them; the goods are weighted according to their importance. Changes in CPI are used to assess price changes associated with the cost of living. Sometimes referred to as headline inflation.

Investopedia explains Consumer Price Index (CPI)

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics measures two kinds of CPI statistics: (1) CPI for urban wage earners and clerical workers (CPI-W) and (2) chained CPI for all urban consumers (C-CPI-U). Of the two, C-CPI-U is more representative of the general public because it encompasses 87% of the population. CPI is one of the most frequently used statistics for identifying periods of inflation or deflation. This is the case because large rises in CPI during a short period typically denote periods of inflation, whereas large drops in CPI during a short period usually mark periods of deflation.

Related Terms:
• Bear Market
• Hyperinflation
• Inflation
• Market Economy
• Treasury Inflation Protected Securities—TIPS