Official definition · 官方定义
“Inflation is an economic concept that refers to an increase in the price level of goods over a specified period.”[1]
— Corporate Finance Institute, CFI Resource Library · corporatefinanceinstitute.com ↗ · accessed 2026-10-25
Inflation is a sustained rise in the general price level. It is measured by tracking a basket of goods and services over time. A little is normal; the problem is when it runs faster than wages or becomes unpredictable.
通胀是整体物价水平的持续上涨，用一篮子商品和服务的价格变动来度量。温和通胀是常态；真正的问题是它跑得比工资快，或者变得无法预测。
Inflation decides the real value of every fixed payment: wages, pensions, coupons, rent. It also drives the single most important price in finance, the policy rate — central banks raise rates to cool it and cut when it undershoots. A 3% headline with 6% core is a different story from 3% and 3%, because core strips out food and energy and says more about where prices are heading.
通胀决定每一笔固定金额的真实价值：工资、养老金、票息、房租。它同时驱动金融里最重要的价格——政策利率：央行为压通胀而加息，为托通胀而降息。
标题 3%、核心 6%，和两者都是 3%，是完全不同的故事。核心剔除了食品和能源，更能说明价格接下来往哪走。
| Move变动 | Where it appeared出现位置 | What it means这句话在说什么 |
|---|---|---|
| 3.7% | Why strong hiring still feels weak 通胀 · 第 6 张术语卡 | Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year to September, faster than pay at 3.1%. 常用 CPI（消费者物价指数）衡量，它是一个固定篮子的价格变化：住房约占三分之一，交通约 17%，食品约 13%。篮子权重每年调整，但不会因为某样东西涨价就立刻换成便宜的替代品，所以 CPI 与个人的真实感受会略有出入。 |
| 2% | US consumer sentiment sinks to its second-lowest level on record 通胀 · 第 5 张术语卡 | The Fed wants 2% inflation, a target it has missed for more than five years. 通胀是加权平均，不是「所有东西一起涨」。食品和油价最容易被感知，所以调查里的「通胀痛感」常常高于官方数字——这也是政策沟通最难的地方。 |
| 3.7% | Wall Street slumps as hot inflation revives the Fed’s rate-hike fears 通胀 · 第 1 张术语卡 | The September reading of 3.7% was the spark: it told markets the Fed may keep squeezing, not easing. 常用指标有 CPI（消费者价格）与 PPI（生产者价格）。央行通常以『把年通胀压到约 2%』为目标；高于目标往往引发加息。 |
| — | PepsiCo to raise some prices after cuts failed to grow sales 通胀 · 第 2 张术语卡 | PepsiCo uses inflation as the yardstick for its increase: a low-to-mid single digit percentage, “aligned with inflation”. 「与通胀水平相当」是消费品公司最常用的一句挡箭牌——它想表达的是：我没有趁机多赚，只是把成本转出去。判断真假要看两点：一是这次涨的是不是只覆盖成本（看毛利率有没有扩张），二是提价之后销量掉不掉（看销量弹性）。美国 8 月 CPI 环比 +0.4%，年化约 5%，所以「低至中个位数」的涨幅确实只能算跟得上物价。 |
Prices are rising
Inflation is the rate of change. Prices can be high and inflation low.
CPI is inflation
CPI is one measure of it. The Fed targets PCE, which weights differently.
Inflation hurts everyone
Debtors gain and creditors lose when inflation is unexpected.
· inflation eased to 3.2%
· core inflation
· inflation expectations
· run above target
· disinflation
inflation eased to 3.2% 通胀放缓至 3.2%；core inflation 核心通胀（剔除食品能源）；inflation expectations 通胀预期；run above target 高于目标；disinflation 指反通胀，即涨幅收窄。
· disinflation (slower rise) vs deflation (falling prices)
· headline vs core (with or without food and energy)
disinflation 是涨得慢了，deflation 是价格真的在跌；headline 含食品能源，core 不含，两者背离时先看能源。
Consumer prices rose X% from a year earlier, down from Y% in the prior month.
数据句：CPI 同比上涨 X%，低于上月的 Y%——同比、环比、预期三条线要分开读。
“Consumer prices rose 3.7% in the year to September, faster than pay at 3.1%.”
“The Fed wants 2% inflation, a target it has missed for more than five years.”
“The September reading of 3.7% was the spark: it told markets the Fed may keep squeezing, not easing.”
“PepsiCo uses inflation as the yardstick for its increase: a low-to-mid single digit percentage, “aligned with…”