DEFINITION OF THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX

The CONSUMER PRICE INDEX (CPI) is designed to measure changes in prices of commodities and services normally purchased by the consuming community, both families and single persons living alone. The Guam CPI (like the U.S. CPI) is based on the concept of a representative “market basket”, a sample of all goods and services that consumers purchase. A total of approximately 282 items are divided into major groups and sub-groups, and indices are computed at different levels of aggregation. More than 1,628 price quotations are collected during the middle month of each quarter for compiling the Guam CPI and related sub-indices. The total number of business outlets included in the construction of the CPI is approximately 80, ranging from grocery and department stores to a variety of service establishments.