Average inflation in Peru

Measures the change in the price of a representative basket of goods and services bought by Peruvian households. It is published by the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI) and is the country's main gauge of inflation.

Compiled from a regular price survey across a wide sample of outlets, weighting each item by its share in household spending on an index with a base year of 100. Average annual inflation averages the year's year-on-year changes.

Prices drive consumption, savings and purchasing power, and are the key reference for the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP), which runs an inflation target. A reading above the target band tends to point to rate rises and supports the sol.

It measures only the defined basket, not the whole economy, and often centres on Metropolitan Lima rather than the country as a whole. For the underlying trend, core inflation, which strips out energy and unprocessed food, is watched.