Consumer price index (CPI)
Riksbank proposes changes to inflation target
Central bank plans to use a variable that avoids short-term distortions, and to reinstate a band around the target
Forecasting would improve with more regular data, says RBNZ’s McDermott
New Zealand is one of two advanced economies that uses quarterly data instead of monthly; current schedule has limited forecast improvements, RBNZ assistant governor says
Peru cuts rates for first time in more than two years
Reversal in food prices prompts board into action, with inflation now expected to end the year within target band; central bank will remain attentive to external conditions
Should more attention be paid to house prices?
The Czech National Bank’s experiences offer insights into using a broader inflation measure with a greater weight on housing to address both monetary and macro-prudential policy requirements
Riksbank deputy open to scrapping CPI as target variable
Quirks of Swedish CPI make it awkward for use as the monetary policy target variable, Per Jansson says; bringing back tolerance band also a possibility
BoE paper extracts inflation expectations from market rates
Market rates are an imperfect measure of expected future inflation, say economists, who break them down into constituent parts, stripping out risk premia and the ‘wedge’ between RPI and CPI
CPI not ideal for comparing inflation rates, research finds
Economist at Sveriges Riksbank says CPI is a good measure of inflation but is ‘not well suited’ to making international comparisons of inflation rates
G-20 inflation measure paves way for co-ordinating policy
New statistic aims to fill ‘data gap' identified in wake of the global financial crisis; follows growing calls for globally coordinated monetary policy as countries fret over effects of QE
Bullard says US government should scrap CPI inflation targeting
The St Louis Fed president believes switching to the Fed's PCE measure would provide clarity to the public about which measure more accurately reflects consumer price inflation
UK statistics office to keep 'unsuitable' inflation measure
The UK Office for National Statistics will not change how it calculates RPI inflation – but will initiate an alternative index in parallel
Keeping sight of the real inflation target
The appropriate construction of CPI indexes is vital to maintain public confidence in inflation targets. Jill Leyland points out issues in current index construction
Some CPI indexes inappropriate for inflation targeting, says Leyland
Royal Statistical Society vice-president Jill Leyland assesses difficulties in constructing accurate inflation indexes; says consumer price indexes will “never be far from controversy”
Bank of Canada estimates measurement bias in CPI
Article assesses degree of bias in the consumer prices index; suggests more frequent updating of goods basket would allow for more accurate measurement
UK inflation figures show surprise rise in July
Office for National Statistics surprises markets by announcing CPI inflation rose to 2.6% in July; Bank of England last week predicted the rate would continue to fall this year
National Bank of Ukraine figures show end of deflationary period
Inflation figures show annualised CPI inflation rose from -0.3% in June to 0% in July; economic department deputy says figures are ‘close to optimal’
National Bank of Hungary predicts stagflation
Quarterly inflation report projects growth contraction in 2012; says inflation is likely to persist above target due to government tax increases
Bank of Colombia rate-setters air inflation concerns
Board of directors unanimously left policy rate unchanged but discussion over inflationary pressures as revealed by minutes shows split over severity of threat
IMF research discusses new formulas for compiling CPI indexes
International Monetary Fund working paper examines new formulas for compiling consumer price indexes using geometric averages
BoJ to continue easing until it hits 1% inflation goal
The Bank of Japan says it plans to continue "powerful easing" until a 1% inflation target is in sight but rejects motion to increase its asset purchase programme by another 5 trillion yen
Australia leaves benchmark rate unchanged again
Reserve Bank of Australia decides to keep cash rate unchanged at 4.25%; follows surprise decision in February to do the same
Inflation targeting: a child of our time?
Starting in 1989 inflation targeting has come of age. But does it have the durability to withstand severe economic and financial shocks, or was it simply a child of its time that cannot mature?
The Fed’s flawed PCE inflation targeting regime
The Fed’s move to adopt inflation targeting (IT) was long expected. But economists Peter Warburton and Joanna Davies say the US central bank will be targeting inflation on its own terms