Ireland - Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Fore Ireland, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in prices of goods and services for the consumer. Due to variations in the methods for calculating CPI, comparisons of CPI from country to country can be inconsistent. To address this problem, the EU developed the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP).

CPI

Active:

• Classification: ECOICOP
• Measurement: Fixed-base index relative to December 2016 (Index Dec2016=100)
• Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequency: Monthly
• Start date: Uniformly 1996m11

Predecessors:

• Dec2011=100 - 1982 to 2017
• Dec2006=100 - 1975 to 2011

HICP

Active:

• Measurement: Fixed-base index relative to 2015 (Index 2015=100)
• Adjustment: Not seasonally adjusted (NSA)
• Native frequency: Monthly
• Start date: 1996m1

Predecessor:

• 2005=100 - 1997 to 2016

The source writes:

Index

The index expresses the current cost of purchasing a fixed basket of consumer goods and services as a percentage of the cost of purchasing the same identical basket at the base period December 2011 equal to 100. It is compiled from prices collected over a period of more than one week, i.e. the Monday prior to the second Tuesday of the month up to and including the third Tuesday of the month.

Coverage

The CPI is an average price index designed to cover all household types from urban to rural, from high to low-income and covering differences in age and marital status. It measures the price changes of goods and services typically consumed by all consumers. The expenditure of foreign tourist on holiday in Ireland is included since December 2001, while the expenditure of institutional households is included since January 2013.

Details

The index is split into 12 main COICOP divisions (each of which has its own individual set of price indices, i.e. inflation) as follows:

• 01 Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages
• 02 Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco
• 03 Clothing and Footwear
• 04 Housing, Water, Electricity, Gas and Other Fuels
• 05 Furnishings, Household Equipment and Routine Household Maintenance
• 06 Health
• 07 Transport
• 08 Communications
• 09 Recreation and Culture
• 10 Education
• 11 Restaurants and Hotels
• 12 Miscellaneous Goods and Services

Periodicity

The CPI is compiled and published on a monthly basis. The reference day for pricing was the second Tuesday of each month up to 2010. Since February 2010, prices are collected over a period of more than one working week, i.e., Monday prior to the second Tuesday of the month up to and including the third Tuesday of the month.

Moody's Analytics supplements

For the CPI general index, we extend history prior to 1996m11 by using its two predecessors. For the CPI and HICP general indexes, we construct seasonally adjusted counterparts using X-13ARIMA-SEATS.

The CPI is not subject to revisions.

The HICP is subject to revisions but, to date, has not been.

Further reading

At the source:

• http://www.cso.ie/en/statistics/prices/

At IMF (SDDS):

• Price index: Consumer prices