MNI BRIEF: US CPI Calculation To Change For January Data

The Bureau of Labor Statistics it will change the method of calculation of CPI inflation data from January 2023 and plans to update the spending weights in the calculation of the CPI every year instead of every two years.

The release of the January 2023 CPI data, which is slated for February 14, will mark the beginning of the switch to yearly weights. The BLS will update the CPI weights annually based on a single calendar year of data, utilizing consumer expenditure data from 2021. Starting in 2002 the BLS had a biennial weight revision, after updating spending weights every 10 years.

Also in the release of the January report, the CPI for new vehicles will introduce a methodology improvement to the time series filter that estimates the most recent cyclical trend and short term fluctuations.