Importance (A-F): This release merits a B+.
Source: Bureau of Labor statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.
Release Time: 8:30 ET, about the 13th of each month for the prior month.
Raw Data Available At: http://stats.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.toc.htm.

The Consumer Price Index is a measure of the price level of a fixed market basket of goods and services purchased by consumers. CPI is the most widely cited inflation indicator, and it is used to calculate cost of living adjustments for government programs and it is the basis of COLAs for many private labor agreements as well. It has been criticized for overstating inflation, because it does not adjust for substitution effects and because the fixed basket does not reflect price changes in new technology goods which are often declining in price. Despite these criticisms, it remains the benchmark inflation index.

CPI can be greatly influenced in any given month by a movement in volatile food and energy prices. Therefore, it is important to look at CPI excluding food and energy, commonly called the "core rate" of inflation. Within the core rate, some of the more volatile and closely watched components are apparel, tobacco, airfares, and new cars. In addition to tracking the month/month changes in core CPI, the year/year change in core CPI is seen by most economists as the best measure of the underlying inflation rate.

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CPI bi na hrvatskom mogli nazvati "vrijednost potrošačke košarice", odnosno, CPI sadrži cijene određenih proizvoda šire potrošnje; hrane, higijenskih proizvoda, energenata, cigareta, alkohola, automobila, najam stana,...Neki osporavaju vrijednost consumer price indexa zato što u njemu nisu uključeni "luksuzni" proizvodi i usluge, poput korištenja interneta, kompjutera, mobitela,...(tehnologije), čije cijene padaju brže i češće od ostalih proizvoda. Iako CPI nije u službenoj uporabi, mnogi ga koriste čak i u službenim dokumentima, kolektivnim ugovorima ili sindikalnim ugovorima. CPI je porastao, odnosno cijena robe u "košarici" je porasla za 0.2%, Briefing.com tvrdi da je to zanemariv porast, ali ipak, to jest porast zato što su cijene do sad rasle 0.1%. Također treba pogledati i "Core CPI", doslovno prevedno "temeljni CPI", kako se označava CPI bez cijene energenata i hrane, jer te cijene znaju drastično varirati iz mjeseca u mjesec, npr. prije mjesec dana je cijena gallona u US bila oko $5, danas je oko $3. Usprkos ponekim nedostacima, mnogi ekonomisti CPI prihvačaju kao najbolji pokazatelj kretanja inflacije.