Harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP) : methodological manual : 2024 edition

The HICP Methodological Manual represents a comprehensive overview of methods that are used in the compilation process for the harmonised index of consumer prices (HICP). The manual intends to be a practical guide to all steps necessary to produce an HICP and is thus useful for statisticians who are new to the field of price statistics and statistical offices aiming to set up a similar inflation measure. Users of the HICP, such as businesses, policy-makers and researchers may also find this manual useful to help them understand and interpret HICP data. The first version of the manual was published in 2018. This updated version reflects the latest legislation, developments on the use of new data sources such as scanner data and web scraping, the use of multilateral index methods and a variety of other developments since 2018. It also describes the methods used for the compilation of the HICP during the COVID-19 crisis.