Inflation — the overall increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy — has been a consistent part of the national economic conversation over the past three years, as rates rose to levels not seen for decades.
Several indicators capture the causes and impacts of inflation, but one of the primary indicators is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The CPI, a detailed monthly measure of the change in prices for more than 200 goods and services, provides a weighted assessment of prices Americans pay across hundreds of categories.
