European Union Core Consumer Price Index (CPI)

Core Consumer Price Index (Core CPI) reflects seasonally adjusted changes in prices for a basket of consumer goods and services, excluding food, alcohol, tobacco and electricity. The CPI is calculated separately for each state in the euro area. Then the obtained data is compiled to the Harmonized Index of Consumer Price (HICP) according to the approved methodology.

The CPI reflects price changes from the perspective of households, i.e. end consumers of goods and services. The index calculation includes clothing, housing, household services, health, transportation, communications, recreation and culture, education, hotels and restaurants, and "miscellaneous" .

Food, alcohol, tobacco and energy are excluded from the Core CPI calculation due to their high volatility. The core index ignores goods and services, which are not part of households' final consumer spending, as well as some categories of expenses which cannot be included in the single system, such as gambling, imputed rental of housing, life insurance, state health insurance, financial intermediation services indirectly measured, etc.

The Consumer Price Index as well as the inflation in the euro area, is a measure of price stability used by the Governing Council of the ECB to evaluate the effectiveness of monetary policy. The impact of the index on euro quotes is usually not significant, since the CPI is maintained at the ECB's target inflation level.