price index

noun

Updated on: 25 Apr 2018

Definition of price index

: an index number expressing the level of a group of commodity prices relative to the level of the prices of the same commodities during an arbitrarily chosen base period and used to indicate changes in the level of prices from one period to another

Recent Examples of price index from the Web

The consumer-price index, which measures what Americans pay for everything from used cars to breakfast cereal, fell 0.1% in March from the month earlier, the first decline since last May, according to the Labor Department.

— akane otani, WSJ, "U.S. Government-Bond Yields Fall as Geopolitical Tensions Rise, CPI Misses," 11 Apr. 2018
The prices index rose, signaling a 25th consecutive month of higher prices paid for materials and services.

— ben leubsdorf, WSJ, "Growth Slowed Across Most of U.S. Economy in March," 4 Apr. 2018
On Tuesday, Standard & Poor's said that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index climbed 6.2% in January from a year earlier on top of a 6.3% annual gain in December.

— Detroit Free Press, "Demolition in June to make way for Gilbert's Monroe Block project," 31 Mar. 2018
The second is that the CBO uses the personal-consumption expenditures (PCE) index to measure inflation, whereas the Census Bureau uses the consumer-price index (CPI).

— The Economist, "The average American is much better off now than four decades ago," 28 Mar. 2018
Standard & Poor’s said Tuesday that its S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller national home price index climbed 6.2 percent in January from a year earlier.

— BostonGlobe.com, "L.L. Bean to open Boston store on April 6," 28 Mar. 2018
The next key inflation data point to watch is the producer price index, or PPI, set for release Thursday.

— adam shell, USA TODAY, "Stocks surge back into positive territory for year despite rising inflation pressures," 14 Feb. 2018
The Fed tracks a different index, the personal consumption expenditures price index excluding food and energy,which has consistently undershot the central bank's 2 percent target since mid-2012.

— yakob peterseil, Houston Chronicle, "Money flows out of pipelines after unfavorable tax ruling," 16 Mar. 2018
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the February increase in its producer price index was half January's 0.4 percent gain.

— paul wiseman, Fox News, "US wholesale prices rose 0.2 percent in February," 14 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'price index.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.