Monitor This Price Index Every Month to See Where the Economy Is Headed.

There are several price indexes that the media feature. The one I monitor most closely is rarely mentioned by the media: the Median Consumer Price Index (CPI), published by the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland.

The important thing is that you compare apples with apples. Use one index and stick with it. All price indexes are flawed. What should interest you most is the change, month to month or year to year, of the same index.

For the most recent figures of the Median CPI, click here.

For the monthly data, 1967 to mid-2007, click here:

For a revised series, 1983 to present, click here:

For the Consumer Price Index, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, click here:

For a handy inflation calculator that lets you compare what $1,000 would have bought in the past compared to how much money it would take today, use the inflation calculator of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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