When Is the Next CPI Report? 2026 Release Dates & Times

The CPI report lands roughly four weeks after the month it measures, always at 8:30am Eastern Time on a pre-announced date. With US inflation running at 3.8% as of April 2026, its highest level since May 2023, each release now carries unusual weight for the Federal Reserve, bond markets, and anyone with a mortgage, savings account or pension. This page lists every confirmed 2026 release date, the results so far this year, and everything you need to know about how the report works.

CPI Release Schedule 2026

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) publishes its full release calendar a year in advance. All 12 scheduled 2026 CPI releases are below, each at 8:30am ET. Five reports have been published so far this year; seven remain.

The BLS has not yet published its 2027 release calendar. When it does, typically in the second half of the year, this page will be updated. The official schedule is maintained at bls.gov.

What Time Is CPI Released?

The CPI report is published at 8:30am Eastern Time, exactly one hour before the New York stock market opens. That is 1:30pm in London, 2:30pm in Frankfurt and Paris, 9:30pm in Tokyo, and 10:30pm in Sydney (times shift by an hour for part of the year because the US and other regions change their clocks on different dates).

The release time is precise to the second. The data is distributed under strict embargo: accredited journalists receive the figures in a secure lock-up at the Department of Labor roughly 30 minutes before release, prepare their stories, and are physically prevented from transmitting anything until 8:30:00am. The moment the embargo lifts, the full report appears on the BLS website at bls.gov/cpi and headlines hit the newswires simultaneously. Market reaction in bond and currency futures is typically measured in milliseconds.

Because US equity exchanges do not open until 9:30am ET, the first market response shows up in Treasury yields, the US dollar, gold and stock index futures. By the time the opening bell rings, the bulk of the repricing has usually already happened.

What Is the Consumer Price Index?

The Consumer Price Index measures the average change over time in the prices urban consumers pay for a fixed basket of goods and services. It is produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an agency of the US Department of Labor, and has been published in something close to its current form since 1919. The headline series, known as CPI-U, covers all urban consumers, roughly 90% of the US population.

The basket spans around 80,000 items across eight major groups: food and beverages, housing, apparel, transportation, medical care, recreation, education and communication, and other goods and services. Each item is weighted by how much of the typical household budget it absorbs, so a 10% rise in rent moves the index far more than a 10% rise in cinema tickets.

Two distinctions matter when reading the report. The first is headline versus core. Headline CPI includes everything; core CPI strips out food and energy, which are volatile and often driven by weather or geopolitics rather than underlying economic conditions. Central bankers tend to focus on core as a cleaner signal of inflation’s trend. The gap between the two is stark right now: in April 2026 headline inflation ran at 3.8% while core sat at 2.8%, with surging energy prices (up 17.9% over the year) accounting for much of the difference.

The second distinction is year-on-year versus month-on-month. The annual figure (for example, “prices rose 3.8% over the last 12 months”) captures the longer trend and is the number quoted in headlines. The monthly figure, seasonally adjusted, shows the most recent momentum and is what traders compare against consensus forecasts. A monthly reading of 0.2% is broadly consistent with the Federal Reserve’s 2% annual target; sustained readings of 0.4% or more are not.

How CPI Is Calculated

Each month, BLS data collectors record roughly 80,000 prices from shops, service providers, websites and rental units across 75 urban areas. Prices are collected throughout the month, which is why the report covering May cannot appear until mid-June. The raw prices are aggregated into item categories, weighted according to the Consumer Expenditure Surveys (detailed diaries of what American households actually buy), and adjusted for predictable seasonal patterns such as January sales or summer fuel demand. Since 2023, the weights have been updated annually to keep the basket current.

One category dominates the arithmetic: shelter. Housing costs make up about a third of the headline index and roughly 40% of core. The BLS measures shelter through rents and through “owners’ equivalent rent”, an estimate of what homeowners would pay to rent their own homes. Because leases reset slowly, shelter inflation lags real-time market rents by a year or more. This lag is why economists often argue the official CPI overstates or understates where inflation is heading, depending on which direction market rents last moved.

CPI is not the only US inflation gauge, and it is not the Federal Reserve’s preferred one. The Fed officially targets the PCE price index, produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which uses broader coverage, different weights (notably less shelter and more healthcare) and adjusts for consumers substituting cheaper alternatives when prices rise. PCE inflation typically runs 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points below CPI. CPI still moves markets more, partly because it arrives about two weeks earlier each month, and partly because it feeds directly into inflation-linked bonds, tax thresholds and benefit payments.

The index is not flawless. In late 2025, the record US government shutdown prevented the BLS from collecting October prices at all: the October 2025 CPI report was never published, the only such gap in the modern era, and the November report that followed carried wider-than-usual uncertainty.

What CPI Means for Your Money

CPI is the closest thing to an official measure of the cost of living. When the index rises 3.8% over a year, as it did in the 12 months to April 2026, a household that spent $60,000 last year needs roughly $62,280 to buy the same things. Anyone whose pay rose less than that became poorer in real terms.

The report also shapes interest rates, which is where it touches almost everyone. When CPI comes in hot, the Federal Reserve is less able to cut rates, and may have to keep them higher for longer. That feeds through to mortgage rates (US 30-year fixed rates track long-term Treasury yields, which jump on strong inflation data), credit card and car loan costs, and, on the brighter side, the interest paid on savings accounts and money market funds. The inflation rebound in spring 2026 has pushed expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts further out, and every CPI release between now and year-end will help decide whether borrowing costs fall at all this year.

CPI also flows directly into incomes. US Social Security payments are uprated annually using CPI-W, a sister index covering wage earners. Union wage negotiations, commercial rent reviews and many long-term contracts reference CPI. Federal tax brackets are adjusted using a chained version of the index. Returns on Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities (TIPS) and I-bonds are set by it.

The effects do not stop at the US border. Because the dollar is the world’s reserve currency and US rates anchor global borrowing costs, a hot US CPI print can lift mortgage costs in London, weaken the yen in Tokyo and pressure emerging-market currencies within minutes. UK and European readers will recognise the pattern: when US inflation data forces Treasury yields up, gilt and bund yields usually follow. For globally diversified investors, the US CPI report is arguably more important than their own country’s inflation release.

How Markets React to CPI

CPI day is consistently among the most volatile sessions of the month. The reaction is anchored to consensus expectations rather than the absolute number: markets price in the forecast beforehand, so it is the surprise that moves prices.

Above consensus (a “hot” print): Treasury yields rise as traders push back expectations for rate cuts, the US dollar strengthens, and equities typically fall, with rate-sensitive sectors such as technology and real estate hit hardest. Gold often drops initially on the stronger dollar. A surprise of 0.1 percentage points on monthly core CPI can move the S&P 500 by 1% or more in either direction on sensitive days.

In line with consensus: An initial flurry of volatility usually fades quickly. Attention shifts to the detail beneath the headline: shelter momentum, services inflation excluding housing (the Fed’s favoured “supercore” measure), and whether the monthly run-rate is consistent with 2% annual inflation.

Below consensus (a “soft” print): Yields fall, the dollar weakens, and equities usually rally as rate-cut bets are pulled forward. Soft core readings tend to produce the strongest risk-on reactions.

Context determines magnitude. In 2026, with headline inflation accelerating from 2.4% in February to 3.8% in April on the back of an energy shock, markets are particularly sensitive to whether the rise is bleeding from energy into core prices. A report that lands days before a Federal Reserve meeting, as the June 10 release does ahead of the June 17 FOMC decision, carries extra weight because it is the last major inflation input policymakers see.

Recent CPI Readings

The table below shows the last 16 months of data: the reference month, headline CPI and core CPI, both measured year-on-year. Note the gap for October 2025, when the government shutdown prevented data collection and the BLS cancelled the report.

The pattern tells a clear story. Inflation cooled steadily through early 2026, with headline CPI settling at 2.4% in January and February, before an energy-driven shock reversed the progress: headline inflation jumped to 3.3% in March and 3.8% in April, the highest since May 2023, with energy prices up 17.9% over the year. Core inflation has drifted up more modestly, from 2.5% to 2.8%, and the key question for the remaining 2026 reports is whether the energy spike feeds into broader prices or fades as quickly as it arrived. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Related Economic Events

CPI is one of several monthly releases that together set the direction of US monetary policy. These sibling guides cover the rest of the calendar:

• FOMC Meetings: the Federal Reserve’s eight scheduled rate decisions each year, where CPI data ultimately gets acted upon.
• US PCE Report: the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, released about two weeks after CPI each month.
• US Jobs Report: non-farm payrolls and unemployment, the other half of the Fed’s dual mandate.
• US Retail Sales: the monthly read on consumer spending, which drives about two-thirds of the US economy.

Upcoming instance previews: US CPI Report, June 10, 2026, US CPI Report, July 14, 2026, and the closely linked US PPI release on June 11, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What time is the CPI report released?

The CPI report is released at 8:30am Eastern Time on the scheduled date, which is 1:30pm in London and 2:30pm in central Europe during summer time. The release time never varies: the data appears on the BLS website and newswires at exactly 8:30:00am ET, one hour before the New York stock market opens.

What is the current US inflation rate?

As of the latest report, US headline CPI inflation is 3.8% for the 12 months to April 2026, the highest annual rate since May 2023. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, is 2.8%. The next update arrives on June 10, 2026, covering May data.

What is core CPI?

Core CPI is the Consumer Price Index excluding food and energy prices, which swing sharply month to month for reasons unrelated to the underlying economy, such as weather or oil supply disruptions. Economists and central bankers watch core CPI as a cleaner measure of inflation’s trend. In April 2026, core CPI was 2.8% against headline inflation of 3.8%, with the gap almost entirely explained by a 17.9% annual rise in energy prices.

How does CPI differ from PCE?

CPI is produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics; the PCE price index is produced by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. PCE covers a broader range of spending (including items paid on consumers’ behalf, such as employer-funded healthcare), uses different weights with less emphasis on housing, and accounts for shoppers switching to cheaper alternatives when prices rise. PCE inflation typically runs 0.3 to 0.4 percentage points below CPI. The Federal Reserve’s 2% target refers to PCE, but CPI arrives roughly two weeks earlier each month and usually moves markets more.

Why does CPI move markets?

CPI is the most timely comprehensive read on US inflation, and inflation determines what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates. A hotter-than-expected print pushes Treasury yields and the dollar up and usually knocks equities down, because it implies rates stay higher for longer. A softer print does the opposite. Because US rates anchor global borrowing costs, the reaction spreads to currencies, bonds and stock markets worldwide within minutes of the 8:30am release.

When is the next inflation report?

The next US inflation report is the CPI release on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 8:30am ET, covering May 2026 data. It is followed by the producer price index on June 11, and the PCE price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred measure, on June 25. The subsequent CPI report lands on July 14, 2026, covering June data.