CPI (Consumer Price Index)

What it measures

CPI tracks the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket. The US release publishes around 8:30 ET on the second week of each month and is split into:

• Headline CPI — the full basket including food and energy.
• Core CPI — excludes food and energy; the Fed’s preferred policy lens.

Why FX, gold and bonds care

CPI is a key input into central bank policy expectations. A hot print pushes rate-cut bets later → higher real yields → stronger dollar, weaker gold, weaker bonds. A cool print does the opposite.

Trading the release

The market often fades the initial knee-jerk move within 5–15 minutes once the breakdown (services vs goods, owner-equivalent rent, etc.) is parsed. Avoid market orders in the first minute; use the calendar to plan around it.

How Finvestopia surfaces CPI

Every US CPI release appears in our economic calendar with expected, previous, and actual values, plus an AI-generated impact note covering the most exposed pairs and gold.