Pricechange

Price change, sometimes written as pricechange, refers to the alteration in the price of a good, service, or asset over a period. It is a fundamental concept in economics and finance used to describe how values move in markets.

The most basic form is the absolute change, ΔP = P1 − P0. Analysts also report the percentage change: %ΔP = [(P1 − P0)/P0] × 100. In macroeconomics, price change is often summarized by a price index, such as the consumer price index (CPI) or producer price index (PPI), which measure average changes in a basket of goods and services.

Price changes arise from shifts in supply and demand, changes in production costs, technological progress, input prices, and external factors such as taxes, subsidies, tariffs, or exchange rates. A movement along a demand or supply curve reflects a price change in response to a stable curve, while a shift of the curve reflects a non-price factor causing a new equilibrium price.

Changes in price influence consumer behavior, substitution effects, and producers’ decisions about output and pricing strategy. In financial markets, price changes affect asset valuation and investment choices. Persistent price changes contribute to inflation or deflation signals and are central to monetary and fiscal policy analysis.

Example: if the price of coffee rises from $3.00 to $3.60 per cup, the absolute increase is $0.60 and the percentage increase is 20%.