Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP) in Bulgaria

It is Spain's Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), compiled by the INE using a methodology common to the whole European Union that allows inflation to be compared across countries and the euro area figure to be calculated.

It is calculated from the prices of a basket of goods and services weighted by household spending, following Eurostat's harmonised classifications (COICOP) and a common base year. Year-on-year and month-on-month changes are released.

It is the benchmark index the European Central Bank uses for its price-stability objective, making it decisive for euro-area monetary policy. A hotter-than-expected print pushes rates and the euro higher.

Being harmonised, it does not capture every feature of national consumption (notably the exclusion of owner-occupied housing), so it can differ from the national CPI; the flash estimate is revised in the final release.