Food inflation
The rise in food prices — the most visible part of the consumer basket to a shopper and the most volatile part to a statistician.
How to read the number
Harvests, weather and logistics move it far more than any policy rate, which is why it is usually set aside when judging underlying price pressure.
When the metric lies
Perceived inflation tracks food far more closely than the headline figure: groceries are bought weekly, furniture once in several years.
Also known as: grocery inflation