Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The headline gauge of prices for goods and services bought by urban consumers. The thermometer of inflation; the year-over-year (YoY) change is what markets watch as the "inflation rate."
Key points
- All-items urban consumer price index (seasonally adjusted)
- Watch the YoY change — the headline "inflation rate"
- Includes food and energy, so it is volatile month to month
- One input into monetary policy (rate hikes/cuts)
How to read it
The YoY percent change matters more than the index level. Around 2% is generally seen as healthy; well above signals inflation pressure, below or negative suggests disinflation/deflation. As an all-items measure it includes volatile food and energy, so monthly swings are large.
Trend
Year by year
Shows the year-over-year change (%) from 2017-10 to 2026-08, grouped by calendar year.
| Year | Average | Year-end | High | Low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (months 1–8) | +3.3% | +3.4% | +4.2% | +2.4% |
| 2025 | +2.7% | +2.7% | +3.0% | +2.3% |
| 2024 | +3.0% | +2.9% | +3.5% | +2.4% |
| 2023 | +4.1% | +3.3% | +6.3% | +3.1% |
| 2022 | +8.0% | +6.4% | +9.0% | +6.4% |
| 2021 | +4.7% | +7.2% | +7.2% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | +1.3% | +1.3% | +2.6% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | +1.8% | +2.3% | +2.3% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | +2.4% | +2.0% | +2.9% | +2.0% |
| 2017 (months 10–12) | +2.1% | +2.1% | +2.2% | +2.0% |
Recent trend
| Period | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-01 | 334.13 | +1.32 |
| 2026-07-01 | 332.81 | +0.25 |
| 2026-06-01 | 332.57 | -1.41 |
| 2026-05-01 | 333.98 | +1.57 |
| 2026-04-01 | 332.41 | +2.11 |
| 2026-03-01 | 330.29 | +2.83 |
| 2026-02-01 | 327.46 | +0.87 |
| 2026-01-01 | 326.59 | +0.56 |
| 2025-12-01 | 326.03 | +0.97 |
| 2025-11-01 | 325.06 | +0.82 |
| 2025-09-01 | 324.25 | +0.95 |
| 2025-08-01 | 323.29 | +1.12 |
FAQ
Consumer Price Index (CPI): what is the latest reading?
What is CPI?
Why look at the year-over-year change?
Sources (primary)
This article is an independent summary based on the official U.S. data below. Please verify the latest and exact details with the official sources.
- FRED (series page)：CPIAUCSL
- Source agency：U.S. BLS
- FRED last updated：2026-09-11 08:37:49-05
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