Norway - Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Since 1960, the monthly consumer price index (CPI) has measured the actual changes in the prices for household goods and services including charges and fees. The headline index and 47 sub-indices are available at the national level only. Statistics Norway also produces monthly Harmonized Indices of Consumer Prices for reporting to Eurostat.

Measurements are as of the 15th of each month.

Established in 1960, the CPI replaced the Cost of Living Index, which had been published since 1914. In 1999 the process of revision and the methods of calculations were modernised and improved, and the classification of consumption was changed to COICOP. In 2005 the sub-index for food and non-alcoholic beverages was improved, which resulted in a sub-index exclusively based on the use of electronic scanner data.

The index base period for the indices (all-items and COICOP detail) is 2015.

The population is defined as all goods and services offered to households in Norway.  A sample of about 650 goods and services is used. In addition, scanner data of around 14,000 goods are used for the calculation of sub-index for food and non-alcoholic beverages.

Expenditure shares (weights) are based on data obtained from the annual household budget survey (HBS), while prices are collected each month from a representative sample of retail and service outlets. This sample is selected from all outlets in Statistics Norway's Business Register defined as the SIC94 industries 50, 52, 55, 71 and 93.  The weights in the period of 1979-July 1999 are based on a pre-COICOP consumption classification. When COICOP was introduced in August 1999 the weights were regrouped. The two sets of weights are not strictly comparable. From January 2011 the CPI weights are based on National Accounts data.

Price

Actual retail price of goods and services offered to households. This means prices including indirect taxes, fees and subsidies. Discount and sale prices are registered. Prices per 15th in the current month are measured.

Expenditure or budget shares (weights)

Are proportional to the consumption of a certain good and consumption in total in a household.

COICOP

Classification of individual consumption by purpose; a consumer classification developed by EUROSTAT. The classification criterion is the end purpose of the consumption.

Classification

Eurostat's COICOP (Classification Of Individual Consumption By Purpose). The COICOP hierarchy consists of divisions, groups, sub-groups 1, sub-groups 2, and individual items.

Core CPI

"Core CPI" is not a term used by Statistics Norway, but these special CPI measures have exclusions and adjustments.  CPI-AT, CPI-ATE, CPI-AE and CPI-AEL have an index base period of 2015.

CPI-AE

CPI excluding energy products; an indicator where the price material and the weight of the energy products are taken out. Other computations are identical with the computation process of the CPI.

CPI-AEL

CPI excluding electricity.

CPI-AT

CPI adjusted for tax changes; an indicator where the weights and the calculations are identical to the CPI. The CPI-AT is also based on actual, observed prices, but those are adjusted for real changes in taxes.

CPI-ATE

CPI adjusted for tax changes and excluding energy products; an indicator that is built upon the main components of CPI-AE and CPI-AT.

The indices are not subject to revision.

The CPI has a reference period of the 15th of the month, and is published on the 10th day of the next month.

Two subcategories of "Communications," "Postal services" and "Telephone equipment" (CPIPOSUM.INOR and CPITEQUM.INOR) were added in the August 2008 period but were discontinued thereafter.

For more information, see: http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/08/02/10/kpi_en/about.html