Chain Price Index - Excluding Food & Energy
Returns the GDP Chain Price Index excluding volatile food and energy prices, providing a measure of underlying inflation trends.
Data Source
Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) - National Income and Product Accounts.
Usage Notes
- No parameters required
- Index value (base year = 100)
- Data updated quarterly
- Excludes volatile food and energy components
Why Exclude Food & Energy?
Food and energy prices are highly volatile due to:
- Weather events affecting agriculture
- Geopolitical events affecting oil prices
- Seasonal factors
Excluding them shows underlying inflation trends more clearly.
Syntax
=ChainPriceIndexWithoutFoodEnergy()Examples
Core GDP chain price index
When to Use
- Analyzing underlying inflation trends
- Federal Reserve policy analysis
- Long-term inflation forecasting
- Filtering out volatile price swings
When NOT to Use
Common Issues & FAQ
Why exclude food and energy?
Food and energy prices are volatile and can obscure underlying inflation trends. The Fed often focuses on core inflation for policy decisions.
Which is more important - headline or core?
Both matter. Core shows underlying trends, while headline reflects actual consumer costs.
