What does CPI stand for?

CPI, or consumer price index, is a measurement of the average amount of money that households spend on consumer goods and services. The CPI is also used to calculate wages, salaries, pensions and regulated or contracted prices.

The CPI is calculated by taking price samples of products from different retailers in different locations over a specific amount of time, along with estimates of the shares of varying types of expenditures as fractions of the total amount included in the index. In addition to the population census and national income and product accounts, the CPI is among the most valued national economic statistics because it helps show inflation.