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Retail Price Index

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The Retail Price Index (RPI) is a monthly index showing average changes in the prices of goods and services bought for the purpose of consumption by the vast majority of households in the UK. It includes prices for food and drink, tobacco, housing, household goods and services, personal goods and services, transport fares, motoring costs, clothing and leisure goods and services.

An index giving the RPI excluding mortgage interest payments (known as the RPIX) is also available. Note that RPI, RPIX and CPI data are not available below the UK level.

Although the RPI (or its components) are used to uplift pensions and state benefits, it is not used to measure the government’s target on inflation. This is measured using the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) which is also compiled monthly and released at the same time as the RPI. The CPI differs from the RPI in that excludes a number of items that are included in RPI, mainly related to housing. These include council tax and a range of owner-occupier housing costs such as mortgage interest payments, house depreciation, buildings insurance, estate agents' and conveyancing fees, although it has greater coverage in terms of households. The CPI, which was formerly known as Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices, is consistently defined across the EU and was used to assess whether prospective members of European Monetary Union passed the inflation convergence criterion. It now acts as the measure of inflation used by the European Central Bank to assess price stability in the Euro-area.

StatsWales website: Retail Price Index (external link)

Primary source: Office for National Statistics website (external link)

Please send any queries or comments by e-mail to economic.stats@wales.gsi.gov.uk