US Consumer Price Index (CPI)
America's headline inflation reading, and the release that moves rate expectations — and with them the dollar and gold — most.
- Published by
- US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS)
- Frequency
- Monthly
- When
- Usually around the middle of the month, for the previous month's prices. Exact dates are on the BLS schedule.
- Time
- 8:30 a.m. New York time: 15:30 in Mecca/Riyadh while the US is on daylight time (March to November), 16:30 otherwise.
What is CPI?
It tracks the price of a basket of goods and services US consumers buy. Two figures are published: headline CPI, and core CPI, which leaves out food and energy because they swing the most. Each is read month-on-month and year-on-year.
Why does it move markets?
The Federal Reserve sets rates around inflation, so a hotter-than-expected print usually raises the odds of higher rates: the dollar tends to rise and gold to fall, and a cooler print tends to do the opposite. What moves the market is the gap between the actual figure and the forecast, not the figure alone.
What traders watch
- Core CPI month-on-month is the figure markets weigh most.
- The gap between the actual figure and the consensus shown in the calendar.
- Any revisions to earlier months.
Most affected instruments
Official schedule
Exact release dates are published in advance by the issuer:
BLS CPI release scheduleNext release in the economic calendar
From TradingView, in your device's time zone. Look for “CPI” in the list.
Before you trade the release
- Spreads widen sharply in the minutes around the release, and orders can fill at a worse price than asked (slippage).
- Some brokers raise margin or restrict orders around major news. Read your broker's terms beforehand.
- The first move can reverse within minutes. Set your position size and stop before the number comes out, not after.
Related indicators
- PCEPersonal Consumption Expenditures price index (PCE)
- FOMCUS interest-rate decision (FOMC)
- NFPUS Non-Farm Payrolls (NFP)
Educational explanation, not investment advice. Market reactions to any release are not guaranteed and can run against the usual pattern.