What it measures
Core CPI is the Consumer Price Index for all items except food and energy. The calendar shows its change from the previous month, seasonally adjusted.
Food and energy prices are left out not because they are unimportant, but because they can swing sharply with harvests, weather and oil markets, which hides the slower trend underneath.
Who publishes it and when
It is part of the monthly CPI release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, published at 08:30 New York time, usually in the middle of the month, for the previous month.
How it is put together
It uses the same price sample and weights as the full CPI, with the food and energy items taken out. Shelter costs such as rent make up a large share of what is left, so housing has a big influence on core inflation.
What traders watch
Many traders treat core as the main number of the CPI release. They compare it with expectations and with the previous months, and watch services prices excluding housing, which say a lot about wage-driven inflation.
How markets have usually reacted
A firmer core reading has often lifted U.S. yields and the dollar and pressured gold and stock indices, because it suggests inflation is sticky. A softer one has often had the opposite effect. When headline and core point in different directions, core has often set the tone.
Common mistakes
- Thinking core is the inflation people feel: households still pay for food and fuel.
- Rounding: the calendar shows one decimal, and a 0.25 and a 0.34 both print as 0.3, so small surprises can hide in the rounding.
How a higher or lower figure is usually read
A higher core reading than last month is usually read as supportive for the U.S. dollar; a lower one as negative. Not a signal.
Release history
| Date | Period | Actual | Previous |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 0.3% | 0.3% |
Related news
- US Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- US Core PCE Price Index
- US Producer Price Index (PPI) Final Demand
- FOMC Rate Decision (Federal Reserve)
- Economic calendar: every release this week in your time zone
- Lot size calculator: keep your risk the same around news
- How to use an economic calendar: what happens around a release, and how to plan for it
Trading involves a high risk of loss. This page is information and education, not advice or a signal to trade. See the Risk Disclaimer.
Official source
This product uses the FRED® API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Calendar data: fred.stlouisfed.org
Published by U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS): www.bls.gov