Retail Price Index Maths Assignment

[Chris W]

I have no idea which section this post should go in....!

Anyway, i am trying to help my lady with a maths assignment that she has to do but we are both stumped. Google has not been my friend on this occasion

Any help would be greatly appreciated... i am not sure of the method i need to use:

1. Use the information given in table 1 (which consists of 5 groups of products and weightings and price ratios for 09/03 relative to 01/03 for each) to calculate the value of the Retail Price Index for September 03. The value of the RPI in January 03 was 178.4. The base date was January 1987.

2. Use the fact that the RPI in 09/02 was 177.6 to calculate the annual rate of inflation in 09/03. I assume this is just a case of working out the percentage change of RPI from 09/02 to 09/03??

3. Calculate the purchasing power of the pound in September 03 compared with one year earlier.

Any help greatly appreciated tearing my hair out here

[MetaWraith]

Is this "RPI" of any help?
It includes definition and worked example.

[Simon M]

The rate of inflation is the percentage change in the RPI over the last twelve months and is calculated using the equation:

Rate of inflation = (Current RPI - Last RPI)/Last RPI x 100

Looks like the answer to me

[homealone]

Originally Posted by MetaWraith

Is this "RPI" of any help?
It includes definition and worked example.

great link - bs baffles brains, springs to mind

[MetaWraith]

Originally Posted by homealone

great link - bs baffles brains, springs to mind

which is exactly why i only linked to it,
wasn't about to try and explain it LOL

[Chris W]

Thanks all Been trying to get this worked out for hours... the result... i have finished it and i have no hair left!!!

Reps all round