In August, total retail sales of consumer goods increased by 9.0 percent year-on-year; the manufacturing PMI registered 51.3; the nationwide survey-based urban unemployment rate stood at 5.0 percent, and CPI rose by 2.3 percent year-on-year.
The third reason to include, rather than exclude, these prices in considering inflation is that they make up an even larger share of expenses for lower-income people, who have less savings and other means to deal with the ups and downs of their finances and the economy.