Seasonally Adjusted Price Level

Think of it this way

It is the same thermometer, corrected for the fact that it is always hotter in August. If you do not correct it, every summer would look like a fever.

What is Seasonally Adjusted Price Level?

It is the CPI level chart, the same price index, but corrected to remove the movements that repeat every year because of the calendar rather than inflationary pressure: January sales, August gasoline, seasonal clothing. Without that adjustment, comparing one month with the previous one would say more about the time of year than about the economy.

How to read Seasonally Adjusted Price Level

Almost identical to CPI level, so on its own it adds little. Its usefulness is that the monthly change is calculated on it. If you overlay them, you will see that the difference between the two is a small annual zigzag that repeats like clockwork. Lag: none; here inflation is the consequence, not the cause.

What Seasonally Adjusted Price Level means for the market

Indirect: it is the raw material for the monthly figure that moves markets on release day.

Where the money flows

It does not involve any flow of its own: it is the same money from the same purchases, with a statistical treatment on top. It is in the catalog because it is the basis for the monthly inflation figure, which is published on this version and not the other.

What to watch in Seasonally Adjusted Price Level

Do not look at it on its own; it adds nothing by itself. Its only practical use is to overlay it on CPI level to see the seasonal zigzag that repeats every year: that difference is exactly what the adjustment removes, and it explains why the monthly figure is calculated on this one and not the other.

The CPI level chart with the calendar swings removed. It is the basis for the monthly figure.