The Consumer Price Index — the most widely reported measure of US inflation. Tracks the cost of a basket of goods and services for urban consumers.
CPI determines real returns for investors, triggers Fed policy changes, and affects Social Security payments and inflation-linked bonds. The single most market-moving monthly data release.
Above 2% = above Fed target. Above 4% = elevated, Fed likely hiking. Above 7% = crisis-level inflation as seen in 2022. Falling CPI is disinflationary.