Accurate total consumer price index forecasting with data augmentation, multivariate features, and sentiment...

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a key economic indicator used by policymakers worldwide to monitor inflation and guide monetary policy decisions. In Korea, the CPI significantly impacts decisions on interest rates, fiscal policy frameworks, and the Bank of Korea's strategies for economic stability. Given its importance, accurately forecasting the Total CPI is crucial for informed decision-making. Achieving accurate estimation, however, presents several challenges. First, the Korean Total CPI is calculated as a weighted sum of 462 items grouped into 12 categories of goods and services. This heterogeneity makes it difficult to account for all variations in consumer behavior and price dynamics. Second, the monthly frequency of CPI data results in a relatively sparse time series, limiting the performance of the analysis. Furthermore, external factors such as policy changes and pandemics add further volatility to the CPI. To address these challenges, we propose a novel framework consisting of four key components: (1) a hybrid Convolutional Neural Network-Long Short-Term Memory mechanism designed to capture complex patterns in CPI data, enhancing estimation accuracy; (2) multivariate inputs that incorporate CPI component indices alongside auxiliary variables for richer contextual information; (3) data augmentation through linear interpolation to convert monthly data into daily data, optimizing it for highly parametrized deep learning models; and (4) sentiment index derived from Korean CPI-related news articles, providing insights into external factors influencing CPI fluctuations. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed model outperforms existing approaches in CPI prediction, as evidenced by lower RMSE values. This improved accuracy has the potential to support the development of more timely and effective economic policies.