Price quote data (for locally collected data only) and consumption segment indices that underpin consumer price inflation statistics, giving users access to the detailed data that are used in the construction of the UK’s inflation figures. The data are being made available for research purposes only and are not an accredited official statistic. From October 2024, private school fees and part-time education classes have been included in the consumption segment indices file. For more information on the introduction of consumption segments, please see the Consumer Prices Indices Technical Manual, 2019. Note that this dataset was previously called the consumer price inflation item indices and price quotes dataset.

Measures of monthly UK inflation data including CPIH, CPI and RPI. These tables complement the consumer price inflation time series dataset.

Representative items within the Consumer Prices Index including owner occupiers' housing costs, Consumer Prices Index and Retail Prices Index for the basket of goods and services.

The Prices Survey Microdata include the underlying price data used by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) to produce the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), the Retail Prices Index (RPI) and associated price indices. The CPI has become the main domestic measure of inflation for macroeconomic purposes in the UK. Since December 2003 it has been used for the inflation target that the Bank of England is required to achieve. The RPI is the most long-standing measure of inflation in the UK, and its uses have included the indexation of pensions, state benefits and index-linked gilts. The study also includes the data underlying the Producer Prices Index.

There are four levels of sampling for local price collection: locations/shopping areas; outlets/shops within locations; representative items/goods and services; and products and varieties (price quotes).

There are two basic price collection methods: local and central. Local collection is used for most items; prices are obtained from outlets in about 150 locations around the country. Some 110,000 quotations are obtained by this method. Normally, collectors must visit the outlet, but prices for some items may be collected by telephone. Central collection is used for items where all the prices can be collected centrally by the ONS with no field work. These prices can be further sub-divided into two categories, depending on their subsequent use: 1) central shops, where the prices are combined with prices obtained locally, and 2) central items, where the prices are used on their own to construct centrally calculated indices. There are about 130 items for which the prices are collected centrally.

The retail price data include the locations containing the shopping outlets from which the price quotes were obtained. These locations are intended to be broadly representative of a central shopping area and the areas where the local shopping population tend to live. The data also include the regions in which those shopping areas are located.

Linking to other business studies
The producer prices data contain Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR) reference numbers. These are anonymous but unique reference numbers assigned to business organisations. Their inclusion allows researchers to combine different business survey sources together. Researchers may consider applying for other business data to assist their research.

Latest edition information
For the 36th edition (September 2025), monthly Item Indices and Price Quotes data files for April to October 2024, and accompanying variable catalogues, have been added to the study.