Headline inflation

How it is used

This is the figure that makes the news headlines, hence the name. Analysts compare it with core inflation, which leaves out volatile items. Headline inflation can jump because of an oil price rise even when underlying inflation is stable.

Example sentences

1. Headline inflation rose to 4.8% because of higher fuel prices.

2. Headline inflation has fallen, but core inflation remains sticky.

Common collocations

• headline inflation rate
• headline and core inflation
• headline inflation rose
• headline CPI

Related terms

• core inflationA measure of inflation that leaves out the most volatile prices, usually food and energy, to show the underlying trend in prices.
• inflationA general and continuing rise in the prices of goods and services in an economy, which means each unit of money buys less over time.
• consumer price indexA measure of the average change over time in the prices that households pay for a fixed basket of goods and services, used to calculate inflation.
• base effectThe effect on a year-on-year rate caused by an unusually high or low figure in the same month of the previous year, rather than by current changes.

More terms: Inflation and Prices

• deflation
• purchasing power
• cost of living
• in real terms
• nominal
• stagflation
• hyperinflation
• disinflation
• producer price index
• price stability
• inflation expectations
• basket of goods