The ABS records a number of inflation measures including:
> The Headline Rate
> The Trimmed Mean Measure
> The Weighted Median
The Reserve Bank takes the average of the Trimmed Mean Measure and the Weighted Median and uses it as the ‘underlying inflation’. Typically the rate of change measured by the trimmed mean measure and the weighted median are very similar.
The Headline Rate
This records the change in prices of about 90 categories of goods and services covered by householders.
The Trimmed Mean Measure
To get the trimmed mean measure all of the above price changes are arranged in order from largest to smallest. Then the top 15% and the bottom 15% are excluded (trimmed).
The Weighted Median
Each item is weighted according to its relative importance. Then they are arranged in order from biggest to smallest and the median is the one right in the middle of the range.