Statistics Estonia postpones January consumer price index data for 2nd time
The release of the January consumer price index data, calculated using a new methodology and initially scheduled for last Friday, has been delayed once again.
"The publication of the consumer price index data scheduled for today, February 9, has been postponed. Likewise, the press conference planned for today to introduce the 2026 consumer price index updates will not take place. Statistics Estonia will announce the new date as soon as possible," the agency said Monday morning.
Statistics Estonia Director General Urmet Lee acknowledged in a press release that it is regrettable the process has taken longer than expected.
"We are not only compiling the first consumer price index of the year and implementing new methodologies, but we are also overhauling the entire process of producing and automating the consumer price index," he said, explaining the second delay in releasing the data.
As of the start of this year, Statistics Estonia began using a new methodology for calculating the consumer price index (CPI), which places greater emphasis on food product discounts than the previous method. The agency had originally planned to release the new data last Friday at 8 a.m., but later announced that the publication of the January data would be delayed until Monday.
Finance minister: Delay disappointing
Minister of Finance Jürgen Ligi (Reform) said Monday that while it is disappointing Statistics Estonia did not manage to publish consumer price index data on time, the methodology is being changed thoroughly.
"First, in terms of how electricity prices were measured. Most people are on fixed-price contracts, but during the sharp price increases, calculating electricity prices based solely on the market-based packages caused a great deal of panic and also distorted the calculation of the average price," said Ligi.
As the second major factor, the minister pointed to the sharp increase in the role of discounted prices in offers, noting that retail chains typically provide widely available discounts, for example, to pensioners or loyalty card holders.
"So we are changing how prices are measured. Price monitoring will no longer be based on shelf prices seen during store visits, but on the actual prices paid at checkout," Ligi said.
He emphasized that this has been a long and serious undertaking, with preparations underway for the past couple of years. It has also been coordinated with Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Commission, under whose system Estonia's statistics fall.
The article was updated with comments from Finance Minister Jürgen Ligi.
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Editor: Urmet Kook, Marcus Turovski
