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CPI Data

finPack provides access to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for use in Microsoft Excel.

This section explains the CPI data available through finPack, how countries and series are identified, how estimated observations are handled, and where the underlying data originates.

Supported countries​

The initial finPack CPI data service supports:

  • Canada
  • United States

Additional countries or CPI series may be added in future releases.

CPI series​

Each country can provide one or more CPI series.

A CPI series represents a specific set of CPI observations identified by:

  • Country.
  • Region.
  • Series name.
  • Frequency.
  • Data source.
  • Historical observations.

The available series are shown automatically in the finPack task pane after you select a country.

See Countries and Series for more information.

Monthly observations​

finPack CPI series contain observations identified by year and month.

Each observation includes:

  • Year.
  • Month.
  • Period.
  • CPI value.
  • Estimated status.

For example:

Year       2026
Month      9
Period     2026-09
Value      170.0
Estimated  No

The Estimated field is retained in the CPI history even though normal published observations do not display an estimated indicator in the task-pane summary.

Estimated observations​

An estimated observation is an observation that was not published by the provider but was estimated by finPack using the provider's recommended methodology.

finPack identifies these observations so that users can distinguish them from observations published directly by the provider.

Calculations that contain one or more estimated observations are identified in the task pane as includes estimated.

See Estimated CPI Observations for details.

CPI Increase​

finPack calculates CPI Increase by comparing a CPI observation with the observation for the same month one year earlier.

Conceptually:

Current-month CPI
───────────────── - 1
Same month one year earlier

For example:

September 2026
compared with
September 2025

This is different from CPI Average Change, which compares average CPI values over two consecutive periods of equal length.

Data providers​

Canadian CPI data originates from Statistics Canada.

Statistics Canada publishes CPI data at multiple geographic levels, including Canada and the provinces.

U.S. CPI data originates from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

See Data Sources for provider information and links to the official CPI resources used by finPack.

Using CPI data in Excel​

finPack provides several ways to work with CPI data:

  • Review the latest CPI information in the task pane.
  • Insert complete CPI history into a structured Excel table.
  • Retrieve a CPI value for a specific month.
  • Calculate CPI Average Change.
  • Use FINPACK.CPI in worksheet formulas.
  • Use FINPACK.CPIINCREASE for same-month annual CPI comparisons.
  • Use FINPACK.CPIAVGCHANGE for comparisons between averaged CPI periods.

In this section​

Continue with:

  1. Countries and Series — Learn how finPack organizes available CPI datasets.
  2. Estimated CPI Observations — Understand how estimated data is identified and used.
  3. Data Sources — Review the statistical providers behind finPack CPI data.