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Guide on producing CPI under lockdown

Guide on producing CPI under lockdown

Published:
cover

The lockdown that followed the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 posed unprecedented challenges to produce the consumer price index (CPI) in many countries. The closing of retail outlets and difficulties with collecting prices from outlets that remained open caused significant drops in the number of collected prices. Statistical offices, therefore, had to explore new data sources and implement methods to make up for missing price observations and changes in data sources and collection methods to ensure the compilation of a reliable CPI. Based on countries’ experiences with producing the CPI during the pandemic, this Guide provides recommendations and emerging best practices for CPI data collection, calculation methods, and communication under lockdown conditions.