What is Consumer price index (CPI)?
A consumer price index tracks the cost of a large basket of goods and services that households typically buy, such as food, rent, energy and transport. The yearly change in that cost is the headline inflation rate. Statistics agencies such as Statistics Canada, the UK's Office for National Statistics and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics publish one monthly.
Why Consumer price index (CPI) matters
It is the figure most inflation targets and inflation-linked payments are based on.