Consumer Price Index (All Urban Consumers)
Monthly U.S. consumer price index level (1982-84=100), seasonally adjusted
CPI measures the broad level of consumer prices paid by urban households and is one of the most influential inflation benchmarks in global markets. Persistent acceleration can tighten policy expectations, while disinflation can ease rate-path pressure.
Historical CPI Chart
History of CPI Measurement
What CPIAUCNS Measures
CPIAUCNS tracks the average change over time in prices paid by urban consumers for a broad basket of goods and services. It is an index level, where month-to-month and year-over-year changes indicate inflation momentum.
Methodology Timeline
- BLS price basket construction: CPI is built from recurring price collection across housing, food, energy, transportation, medical care, and other consumption categories.
- Weights and updates: Expenditure weights are periodically updated using consumer survey data, improving representativeness as spending patterns evolve.
- Inflation benchmark role: CPI remains central in market inflation narratives and policy interpretation even as the Fed targets PCE inflation operationally.
Why Traders Watch It
CPI surprises can materially reprice rate expectations, front-end yields, FX, and equity multiples in a single session. Trend direction in CPI helps define whether macro conditions are disinflationary, sticky, or reflationary.
Current Reading
Interpreting CPI
FISES Context
CPI helps frame inflation regime context across rates, growth, and risk assets. Within macro scoring workflows, sustained disinflation generally supports easier financial conditions, while sticky inflation raises policy-risk sensitivity.
Release Schedule
CPI is released monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, typically in the middle of each month for the prior month's reading.
- Frequency: Monthly
- Unit: Index (1982-84=100)
- Source family: BLS consumer price surveys