Research · United States
US inflation drivers
Which prices keep CPI above 2%, is the pressure broad or concentrated, and what would it take to bring 12-month inflation back?
Inspect the official-source snapshot, test timing and examine projections with their historical errors, without treating correlation as causation.
One published snapshot
Prices, jobs, oil and rates
US-only monthly observations from Jan 2010 through Sep 2026 · version us-inflation-eb32963698e74efd. Every figure below comes from this approved refresh. Individual series end on different months.
Related topics
US inflation watch is the primary published data page. US rates, growth and inflation supplies the policy stance below (real policy rate, Taylor-rule benchmarks and market inflation expectations) from its own snapshot.
US Inflation Watch · Primary evidence: CPI category effects, headline/core prices, JOLTS, payrolls, wages, WTI oil and the effective Fed rate.
US Rates, Growth and Inflation · Policy stance: the real policy rate, Taylor-rule benchmarks, Treasury yields, breakeven inflation and the term premium from its own approved snapshot.
Official CPI accounting
Category contributions to CPI inflation
Select an ending month. The four BLS categories are non-overlapping effects on all-items CPI, in percentage points. Shelter belongs to core services. A category's own inflation rate is not its contribution.
These choices drive every section below. The reference pace is the benchmark for breadth, pressure points and the outlook; 2% matches the Fed's objective, which is defined for PCE inflation rather than CPI.
Largest contribution: Core services, including shelter (1.904 pp). That is 51% of the net four-group effect. Four-group total 3.738 pp; CPI rounding means the published headline can differ slightly. Negative effects can make positive shares exceed 100% of the net effect.
Underlying inflation and breadth
Breadth of inflation across the basket
Headline CPI is a weighted average, so a few large price moves can pull it away from what most prices are doing. The trimmed mean and the median describe the middle of the basket instead. If they sit close to the headline, the pressure is broad; if they sit well below it, a few items are lifting the average.
In September 2026, headline CPI rose 3.7% over 12 months; the trimmed mean was 2.8% and the weighted median 3.3%. Large increases in a small share of spending, mainly gasoline (all types) at +34.2% and airline fares at +22.4%, lift the headline 0.9 points above the trimmed mean. 77% of spending is on items rising faster than 2.0%. By the trimmed mean, underlying inflation is 0.8 points above the reference pace. The median falls on owners' equivalent rent of residences, which alone is 26% of spending.
Distribution of spending weights
Share of the basket by 12-month price change, September 2026
Headline versus the middle of the basket
12-month change, % · Jan 2022 to Sep 2026
Inspect the 63 slices of the basket (99.9% of spending covered)
Sorted from the largest fall to the largest rise. Weights are relative importance 12 months before the release, the base of a 12-month change. Rows marked derived are unlisted parts of a category: the weight is the parent's less its published children, and the price change is implied by the derived BLS effect. Unlisted parts under 0.1% of spending are rounding residue and are left out.
| Category path | 12-month change, % | Weight, % of spending | Cumulative weight, % | Basis | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Eggs Eggs | -20.6 | 0.154 | 0.2 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.031 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -20.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.154 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Transportation services → Motor vehicle insurance Motor vehicle insurance | -5.0 | 2.804 | 3.0 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.136 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.142 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.804 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Medical care commodities Medical care commodities | -3.3 | 1.503 | 4.5 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.048 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -3.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.04 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.503 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Dairy and related products → Cheese and related products Cheese and related products | -3.0 | 0.251 | 4.7 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.01 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.251 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Education and communication commodities Education and communication commodities | -2.6 | 0.732 | 5.5 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.019 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -2.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.03 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.732 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Household furnishings and supplies → Furniture and bedding Furniture and bedding | -2.4 | 0.791 | 6.2 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.021 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -2.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.007 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.791 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services Unlisted items in Medical care services | -1.6 | 2.046 | 8.3 | Derived: effect ÷ weight · trimmed tail | 8 rowsSep 2026 · 0.174 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.117 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 6.765 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.949 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.965 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.805 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Other meats Other meats | -1.6 | 0.183 | 8.5 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.003 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -1.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.002 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.183 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Transportation commodities less motor fuel → Used cars and trucks Used cars and trucks | -1.5 | 2.440 | 10.9 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.033 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -1.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.44 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Household furnishings and supplies → Appliances Appliances | -1.0 | 0.221 | 11.1 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.003 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.221 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits → Bananas Bananas | -0.8 | 0.113 | 11.3 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.113 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Other food at home → Fats and oils Fats and oils | -0.8 | 0.243 | 11.5 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.002 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.243 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Poultry → Chicken Chicken | -0.6 | 0.216 | 11.7 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.002 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.006 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.216 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Pork Unlisted items in Pork | -0.4 | 0.239 | 12.0 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.288 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.049 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Dairy and related products Unlisted items in Dairy and related products | -0.4 | 0.280 | 12.2 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 6 rowsSep 2026 · -0.005 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.726 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.251 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.195 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Pork → Pork chops Pork chops | -0.1 | 0.049 | 12.3 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.049 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Transportation commodities less motor fuel Unlisted items in Transportation commodities less motor fuel | 0.4 | 0.500 | 12.8 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 6 rowsSep 2026 · -0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.022 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.033 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 7.247 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 4.307 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.44 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Transportation commodities less motor fuel → New vehicles New vehicles | 0.6 | 4.307 | 17.1 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.022 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 4.307 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh vegetables → Potatoes Potatoes | 1.1 | 0.087 | 17.2 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.087 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Household furnishings and supplies Unlisted items in Household furnishings and supplies | 1.3 | 2.376 | 19.6 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 6 rowsSep 2026 · 0.007 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.003 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.021 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 3.388 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.221 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.791 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Alcoholic beverages Alcoholic beverages | 1.4 | 0.828 | 20.4 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.014 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.828 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Other food at home → Other foods Other foods | 1.4 | 1.733 | 22.1 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.024 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.733 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Cereals and bakery products → Bakery products Bakery products | 1.7 | 0.765 | 22.9 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.7 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.018 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.765 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services → Physicians' services Physicians' services | 2.1 | 1.805 | 24.7 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.034 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.805 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Dairy and related products → Milk Milk | 2.3 | 0.195 | 24.9 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.195 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Recreation services Recreation services | 2.3 | 3.439 | 28.3 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.076 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.079 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 3.439 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home Unlisted items in Food away from home | 2.3 | 0.129 | 28.5 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 8 rowsSep 2026 · 0.187 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.09 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.086 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 5.653 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.451 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.828 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.245 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter Unlisted items in Shelter | 2.4 | 0.421 | 28.9 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 8 rowsSep 2026 · 1.142 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.064 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.853 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.215 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 35.471 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.363 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 26.231 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 7.456 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Other goods Unlisted items in Other goods | 2.4 | 0.796 | 29.7 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.048 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.029 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.287 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.491 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh vegetables Unlisted items in Fresh vegetables | 2.4 | 0.371 | 30.1 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 6 rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.547 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.087 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.089 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Processed fruits and vegetables Processed fruits and vegetables | 2.7 | 0.221 | 30.3 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.7 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.221 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter → Rent of primary residence Rent of primary residence | 2.8 | 7.456 | 37.7 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.215 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.211 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 7.456 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Beef and veal Unlisted items in Beef and veal | 3.0 | 0.271 | 38.0 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.491 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.22 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Education and communication services Education and communication services | 3.1 | 4.907 | 42.9 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.156 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.157 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 4.907 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials Unlisted items in Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials | 3.2 | 0.755 | 43.7 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.038 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.014 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.908 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.153 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Cereals and bakery products → Cereals and cereal products Cereals and cereal products | 3.2 | 0.326 | 44.0 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.01 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.01 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.326 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home → Limited service meals and snacks Limited service meals and snacks | 3.2 | 2.828 | 46.8 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.086 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.087 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.828 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter → Owners' equivalent rent of residences Owners' equivalent rent of residences | 3.3 | 26.231 | 73.1 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.853 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.802 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 26.231 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Apparel Apparel | 3.4 | 2.504 | 75.6 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.082 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.086 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.504 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Recreation commodities Recreation commodities | 3.6 | 1.830 | 77.5 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.07 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.059 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.83 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home → Full service meals and snacks Full service meals and snacks | 3.8 | 2.451 | 79.9 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.09 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.084 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.451 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home → Other food away from home Other food away from home | 4.0 | 0.245 | 80.2 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.245 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Transportation services Unlisted items in Transportation services | 4.1 | 2.584 | 82.7 | Derived: effect ÷ weight | 6 rowsSep 2026 · 0.171 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.201 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.136 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 6.243 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.855 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.804 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy services → Electricity Electricity | 4.4 | 2.465 | 85.2 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.109 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.096 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.465 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter → Lodging away from home Lodging away from home | 4.4 | 1.363 | 86.6 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.064 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.049 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.363 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Other personal services Other personal services | 4.5 | 1.657 | 88.2 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.071 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.069 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.657 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Water and sewer and trash collection services Water and sewer and trash collection services | 4.8 | 1.089 | 89.3 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.053 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.089 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy services → Utility (piped) gas service Utility (piped) gas service | 5.0 | 0.770 | 90.1 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.038 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.034 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.77 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Beef and veal → Uncooked ground beef Uncooked ground beef | 5.4 | 0.220 | 90.3 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.016 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.22 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Other food at home → Sugar and sweets Sugar and sweets | 5.5 | 0.337 | 90.7 | Published BLS rate | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.018 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.337 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services → Hospital services Hospital services | 5.6 | 1.965 | 92.6 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.117 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.107 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.965 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services Unlisted items in Services less energy services | 5.6 | 1.064 | 93.7 | Derived: effect ÷ weight · trimmed tail | 16 rowsSep 2026 · 1.904 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.156 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.174 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.071 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.076 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.142 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.171 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 60.635 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 4.907 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 6.765 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.657 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 3.439 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 35.471 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 6.243 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.089 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services → Dental services Dental services | 6.0 | 0.949 | 94.6 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.045 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.949 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits Unlisted items in Fresh fruits | 6.4 | 0.345 | 95.0 | Derived: effect ÷ weight · trimmed tail | 6 rowsSep 2026 · 0.026 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.005 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.543 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.085 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.113 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Other goods → Tobacco and smoking products Tobacco and smoking products | 6.4 | 0.491 | 95.5 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.029 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.029 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.491 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh vegetables → Tomatoes Tomatoes | 6.8 | 0.089 | 95.6 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.089 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Fish and seafood Fish and seafood | 6.9 | 0.242 | 95.8 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6.9 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.019 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.242 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials → Coffee Coffee | 7.1 | 0.153 | 96.0 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.014 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 7.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.153 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits → Apples Apples | 7.5 | 0.085 | 96.0 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.005 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 7.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.085 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Poultry → Other uncooked poultry including turkey Other uncooked poultry including turkey | 8.4 | 0.071 | 96.1 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.006 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 8.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.071 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Transportation services → Airline fares Airline fares | 22.4 | 0.855 | 97.0 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.201 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 22.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.204 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.855 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy commodities → Motor fuel → Gasoline (all types) Gasoline (all types) | 34.2 | 2.949 | 99.9 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 1.093 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 34.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.87 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.949 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy commodities → Fuel oil and other fuels → Fuel oil Fuel oil | 74.2 | 0.074 | 100.0 | Published BLS rate · trimmed tail | 4 rowsSep 2026 · 0.058 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 74.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.04 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.074 PERCENT |
Inspect every release in the trend (56 months)
| Release | Headline, % | Core, % | Trimmed mean, % | Median, % | Spending above 2.0%, % | Coverage, % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 2026 | 3.7 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 77 | 99.9 |
| Aug 2026 | 3.4 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 78 | 99.6 |
| Jul 2026 | 3.4 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.2 | 76 | 99.9 |
| Jun 2026 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 74 | 99.6 |
| May 2026 | 4.2 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 76 | 99.9 |
| Apr 2026 | 3.8 | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.3 | 74 | 99.9 |
| Mar 2026 | 3.3 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 74 | 99.5 |
| Feb 2026 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 76 | 99.9 |
| Jan 2026 | 2.4 | 2.5 | 2.6 | 3.1 | 67 | 99.6 |
| Dec 2025 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 69 | 99.8 |
| Nov 2025 | 2.7 | 2.6 | 2.7 | 3.0 | 75 | 99.8 |
| Sep 2025 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 3.4 | 71 | 99.8 |
| Aug 2025 | 2.9 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.6 | 72 | 95.8 |
| Jul 2025 | 2.7 | 3.1 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 71 | 99.6 |
| Jun 2025 | 2.7 | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 71 | 99.9 |
| May 2025 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 61 | 99.5 |
| Apr 2025 | 2.3 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.6 | 62 | 99.6 |
| Mar 2025 | 2.4 | 2.8 | 2.8 | 3.7 | 62 | 99.9 |
| Feb 2025 | 2.8 | 3.1 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 65 | 99.9 |
| Jan 2025 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.6 | 65 | 99.6 |
| Dec 2024 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.5 | 64 | 99.9 |
| Nov 2024 | 2.7 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.6 | 62 | 99.1 |
| Oct 2024 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 67 | 99.8 |
| Sep 2024 | 2.4 | 3.3 | 2.8 | 3.9 | 64 | 99.9 |
| Aug 2024 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 62 | 99.9 |
| Jul 2024 | 2.9 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 3.8 | 64 | 99.9 |
| Jun 2024 | 3.0 | 3.3 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 65 | 99.4 |
| May 2024 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 4.1 | 64 | 99.7 |
| Apr 2024 | 3.4 | 3.6 | 3.2 | 4.1 | 60 | 99.7 |
| Mar 2024 | 3.5 | 3.8 | 3.3 | 4.5 | 62 | 99.5 |
| Feb 2024 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 62 | 99.8 |
| Jan 2024 | 3.1 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4.3 | 64 | 99.9 |
| Dec 2023 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.6 | 4.5 | 64 | 99.6 |
| Nov 2023 | 3.1 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 4.8 | 64 | 99.5 |
| Oct 2023 | 3.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 75 | 95.7 |
| Sep 2023 | 3.7 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 5.1 | 83 | 99.7 |
| Aug 2023 | 3.7 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 5.2 | 79 | 99.8 |
| Jul 2023 | 3.2 | 4.7 | 4.4 | 5.8 | 78 | 99.8 |
| Jun 2023 | 3.0 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.9 | 79 | 99.9 |
| May 2023 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 5.3 | 6.3 | 81 | 99.9 |
| Apr 2023 | 4.9 | 5.5 | 5.6 | 7.3 | 82 | 99.4 |
| Mar 2023 | 5.0 | 5.6 | 6.0 | 7.9 | 85 | 99.8 |
| Feb 2023 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 85 | 99.8 |
| Jan 2023 | 6.4 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 7.8 | 86 | 99.8 |
| Dec 2022 | 6.5 | 5.7 | 6.5 | 7.5 | 89 | 99.8 |
| Nov 2022 | 7.1 | 6.0 | 6.9 | 7.1 | 93 | 99.8 |
| Oct 2022 | 7.7 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 6.9 | 87 | 99.5 |
| Sep 2022 | 8.2 | 6.6 | 7.7 | 6.7 | 91 | 99.5 |
| Aug 2022 | 8.3 | 6.3 | 7.4 | 6.3 | 91 | 99.9 |
| Jul 2022 | 8.5 | 5.9 | 7.0 | 5.8 | 90 | 99.9 |
| Jun 2022 | 9.1 | 5.9 | 6.8 | 5.8 | 91 | 99.9 |
| May 2022 | 8.6 | 6.0 | 6.8 | 5.1 | 91 | 99.9 |
| Apr 2022 | 8.3 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 4.8 | 90 | 99.9 |
| Mar 2022 | 8.5 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 4.5 | 91 | 99.9 |
| Feb 2022 | 7.9 | 6.4 | 5.9 | 4.3 | 90 | 99.9 |
| Jan 2022 | 7.5 | 6.0 | 5.4 | 4.1 | 91 | 99.9 |
These are Exalytics calculations from the published BLS 12-month category rates and relative importance in this snapshot, not the Cleveland Fed's median or trimmed-mean CPI, which use about 45 components, split shelter by region and trim seasonally adjusted monthly changes. Owners' equivalent rent is a single slice of about a quarter of spending here, so the median often lands on it; the trimmed mean is less lumpy. Robust measures describe where most prices are; they do not say why prices rose.
Pinpoint the pressure
Contributions to inflation above 2.0%
September 2026 · 12-month effects, not seasonally adjusted. Uses the release, basis and reference pace selected above.
Ranked at the finest level with a published BLS effect, so parent categories are replaced by their children and shelter and rent are never counted twice. An item's excess is its published effect minus the effect it would have had if its prices had risen at 2.0%: its basket weight 12 months earlier × 2.0%. The excesses add up exactly to the gap between all-items inflation and 2.0%. These are accounting contributions, not proof of underlying economic causes.
From 2.0% to all-items inflation
Percentage points of all-items CPI, 12 months to September 2026. Each step is an item's excess over the reference pace.
Steps: +2.257 pp from 30 items above the pace, -0.587 pp from items below it, +0.068 pp in unlisted parts and 0.000 pp residual (items without a base-period weight, unlisted parts whose effect rounds to zero, and rounding). Published headline: 3.74%; it can differ from the effect total by BLS rounding.
Gasoline (all types)
Energy → Energy commodities → Motor fuel → Gasoline (all types)
- Own price change34.2% over 12 months
- Last 3 months46.8% a year · faster than its 12-month change
- Months above the pace7 of 11 published
Building: the last three months ran faster than the 12-month change.
Owners' equivalent rent of residences
Services less energy services → Shelter → Owners' equivalent rent of residences
- Own price change3.3% over 12 months
- Last 3 months3.2% a year · close to its 12-month change
- Months above the pace10 of 10 published
Persistent: above the 2.0% pace in 10 of 10 published months.
Airline fares
Services less energy services → Transportation services → Airline fares
- Own price change22.4% over 12 months
- Last 3 months27.3% a year · faster than its 12-month change
- Months above the pace10 of 10 published
Building: the last three months ran faster than the 12-month change.
Hospital services
Services less energy services → Medical care services → Hospital services
- Own price change5.6% over 12 months
- Last 3 months4.9% a year · slower than its 12-month change
- Months above the pace7 of 10 published
Uneven: above the 2.0% pace in 7 of 10 published months.
Rent of primary residence
Services less energy services → Shelter → Rent of primary residence
- Own price change2.8% over 12 months
- Last 3 months2.8% a year · close to its 12-month change
- Months above the pace8 of 10 published
Persistent: above the 2.0% pace in 8 of 10 published months.
Five broad buckets and the full contribution tree
Food, energy, core goods, shelter and other core services. The last is core services minus shelter, a derived difference. If shelter is missing, core services stays unsplit.
| Broad bucket | Effect on all items | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Food | +0.338 pp | Published BLS effect |
| Energy | +1.353 pp | Published BLS effect |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities | +0.143 pp | Published BLS effect |
| Shelter | +1.142 pp | Published BLS effect |
| Other core services | +0.762 pp | Derived difference |
Below: a disjoint frontier of published items and explicit remainders. Base weight is relative importance 12 months before the release. “Change in effect” compares this effect with the previous calendar month's effect on the same basis; it is not the item's price change. Missing values stay blank. Price-only descendants remain on the topic page.
| Category path | Effect, pp | Base weight, % | At 2.0%, pp | Excess, pp | Own rate, % | Last 3 months, % a year | Months above pace | Change in effect, pp | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy → Energy commodities → Motor fuel → Gasoline (all types) Published effect | +1.093 pp | 2.949 | 0.059 | +1.034 | 34.20 | 46.8 | 7 of 11 | +0.223 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 1.093 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 34.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.87 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.949 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter → Owners' equivalent rent of residences Published effect | +0.853 pp | 26.231 | 0.525 | +0.328 | 3.30 | 3.2 | 10 of 10 | +0.051 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.853 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.802 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 26.231 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Transportation services → Airline fares Published effect | +0.201 pp | 0.855 | 0.017 | +0.184 | 22.40 | 27.3 | 10 of 10 | -0.003 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.201 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 22.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.204 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.855 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services → Hospital services Published effect | +0.117 pp | 1.965 | 0.039 | +0.078 | 5.60 | 4.9 | 7 of 10 | +0.010 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.117 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.107 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.965 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter → Rent of primary residence Published effect | +0.215 pp | 7.456 | 0.149 | +0.066 | 2.80 | 2.8 | 8 of 10 | +0.004 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.215 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.211 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 7.456 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy services → Electricity Published effect | +0.109 pp | 2.465 | 0.049 | +0.060 | 4.40 | 0.4 | 4 of 10 | +0.013 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.109 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.096 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.465 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Education and communication services Published effect | +0.156 pp | 4.907 | 0.098 | +0.058 | 3.10 | 9.6 | 6 of 10 | -0.001 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.156 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.157 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 4.907 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy commodities → Fuel oil and other fuels → Fuel oil Published effect | +0.058 pp | 0.074 | 0.001 | +0.057 | 74.20 | 142.5 | 6 of 10 | +0.018 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.058 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 74.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.04 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.074 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Transportation services Unallocated within Transportation services | +0.106 pp | 2.584 | 0.052 | +0.054 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.171 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.201 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.136 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 6.243 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.855 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.804 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy commodities → Motor fuel Unallocated within Motor fuel | +0.054 pp | 0.084 | 0.002 | +0.052 | — | — | — | — | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 1.147 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.093 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 3.033 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.949 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home → Full service meals and snacks Published effect | +0.090 pp | 2.451 | 0.049 | +0.041 | 3.80 | 3.7 | 8 of 10 | +0.006 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.09 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.084 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.451 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services Unallocated within Services less energy services | +0.060 pp | 1.064 | 0.021 | +0.039 | — | — | — | — | 16 input rowsSep 2026 · 1.904 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.156 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.174 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.071 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.076 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.142 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.171 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 60.635 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 4.907 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 6.765 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.657 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 3.439 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 35.471 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 6.243 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.089 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Other personal services Published effect | +0.071 pp | 1.657 | 0.033 | +0.038 | 4.50 | 0.8 | 5 of 10 | +0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.071 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.069 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.657 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter → Lodging away from home Published effect | +0.064 pp | 1.363 | 0.027 | +0.037 | 4.40 | 6.2 | 7 of 10 | +0.015 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.064 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.049 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.363 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services → Dental services Published effect | +0.054 pp | 0.949 | 0.019 | +0.035 | 6.00 | 1.6 | 7 of 10 | +0.009 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.045 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.949 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Recreation commodities Published effect | +0.070 pp | 1.830 | 0.037 | +0.033 | 3.60 | 6.2 | 6 of 10 | +0.011 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.07 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.059 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.83 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Water and sewer and trash collection services Published effect | +0.054 pp | 1.089 | 0.022 | +0.032 | 4.80 | 4.5 | 10 of 10 | +0.001 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.053 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.089 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Apparel Published effect | +0.082 pp | 2.504 | 0.050 | +0.032 | 3.40 | 1.6 | 7 of 10 | -0.004 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.082 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.086 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.504 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home → Limited service meals and snacks Published effect | +0.086 pp | 2.828 | 0.057 | +0.029 | 3.20 | 2.4 | 8 of 10 | -0.001 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.086 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.087 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.828 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy services → Utility (piped) gas service Published effect | +0.038 pp | 0.770 | 0.015 | +0.023 | 5.00 | -2.8 | 5 of 10 | +0.004 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.038 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.034 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.77 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Other goods → Tobacco and smoking products Published effect | +0.029 pp | 0.491 | 0.010 | +0.019 | 6.40 | 7.4 | 6 of 10 | 0.000 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.029 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.029 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.491 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Fish and seafood Published effect | +0.020 pp | 0.242 | 0.005 | +0.015 | 6.90 | 2.0 | 5 of 10 | +0.001 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6.9 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.019 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.242 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits Unallocated within Fresh fruits | +0.022 pp | 0.345 | 0.007 | +0.015 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.026 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.005 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.543 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.085 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.113 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Other food at home → Sugar and sweets Published effect | +0.018 pp | 0.337 | 0.007 | +0.011 | 5.50 | -0.8 | 5 of 10 | -0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.018 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.337 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials → Coffee Published effect | +0.014 pp | 0.153 | 0.003 | +0.011 | 7.10 | 0.8 | 6 of 10 | +0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.014 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 7.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.153 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials Unallocated within Nonalcoholic beverages and beverage materials | +0.024 pp | 0.755 | 0.015 | +0.009 | — | — | — | — | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.038 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.014 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.908 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.153 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Beef and veal → Uncooked ground beef Published effect | +0.012 pp | 0.220 | 0.004 | +0.008 | 5.40 | -9.2 | 5 of 10 | -0.004 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 5.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.016 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.22 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Recreation services Published effect | +0.076 pp | 3.439 | 0.069 | +0.007 | 2.30 | 1.2 | 5 of 10 | -0.003 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.076 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.079 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 3.439 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Processed fruits and vegetables Published effect | +0.009 pp | 0.221 | 0.004 | +0.005 | 2.70 | 2.8 | 6 of 10 | 0.000 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.7 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.221 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Poultry → Other uncooked poultry including turkey Published effect | +0.006 pp | 0.071 | 0.001 | +0.005 | 8.40 | -2.0 | 5 of 10 | -0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.006 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 8.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.071 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Cereals and bakery products → Cereals and cereal products Published effect | +0.010 pp | 0.326 | 0.007 | +0.003 | 3.20 | 3.6 | 5 of 10 | 0.000 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.01 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 3.2 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.01 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.326 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits → Apples Published effect | +0.005 pp | 0.085 | 0.002 | +0.003 | 7.50 | 1.3 | 8 of 10 | +0.001 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.005 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 7.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.085 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home → Other food away from home Published effect | +0.008 pp | 0.245 | 0.005 | +0.003 | 4.00 | 5.3 | 6 of 10 | -0.001 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.245 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Other goods Unallocated within Other goods | +0.019 pp | 0.796 | 0.016 | +0.003 | — | — | — | — | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.048 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.029 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.287 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.491 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Beef and veal Unallocated within Beef and veal | +0.008 pp | 0.271 | 0.005 | +0.003 | — | — | — | — | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.491 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.22 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh vegetables → Tomatoes Published effect | +0.004 pp | 0.089 | 0.002 | +0.002 | 6.80 | -21.5 | 4 of 10 | 0.000 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 6.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.089 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh vegetables Unallocated within Fresh vegetables | +0.009 pp | 0.371 | 0.007 | +0.002 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.547 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.087 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.089 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Shelter Unallocated within Shelter | +0.010 pp | 0.421 | 0.008 | +0.002 | — | — | — | — | 8 input rowsSep 2026 · 1.142 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.064 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.853 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.215 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 35.471 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.363 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 26.231 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 7.456 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables Unallocated within Fresh fruits and vegetables | +0.001 pp | 0.000 | 0.000 | +0.001 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.039 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.026 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.09 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.543 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.547 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Poultry Unallocated within Poultry | +0.001 pp | 0.000 | 0.000 | +0.001 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.005 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.002 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.006 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.287 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.216 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.071 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy services Unallocated within Energy services | +0.001 pp | 0.000 | 0.000 | +0.001 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.148 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.109 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.038 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 3.235 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.465 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.77 PERCENT |
| Food → Food away from home Unallocated within Food away from home | +0.003 pp | 0.129 | 0.003 | 0.000 | — | — | — | — | 8 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.187 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.09 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.086 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 5.653 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.451 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.828 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.245 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Dairy and related products → Milk Published effect | +0.004 pp | 0.195 | 0.004 | 0.000 | 2.30 | -10.3 | 6 of 10 | -0.004 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.195 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services → Physicians' services Published effect | +0.036 pp | 1.805 | 0.036 | 0.000 | 2.10 | 0.8 | 6 of 10 | +0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 2.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.034 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.805 PERCENT |
| Energy → Energy commodities → Fuel oil and other fuels Unallocated within Fuel oil and other fuels | +0.001 pp | 0.059 | 0.001 | 0.000 | — | — | — | — | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.059 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.058 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.133 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.074 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats Unallocated within Meats | -0.001 pp | -0.001 | 0.000 | -0.001 | — | — | — | — | 8 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.015 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.003 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.961 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.491 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.183 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.288 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Pork → Pork chops Published effect | 0.000 pp | 0.049 | 0.001 | -0.001 | -0.10 | -12.9 | 6 of 10 | -0.001 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.049 PERCENT |
| Energy Unallocated within Energy | -0.001 pp | -0.001 | 0.000 | -0.001 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 1.353 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.206 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.148 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 6.4 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 3.166 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 3.235 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables Unallocated within Fruits and vegetables | -0.001 pp | 0.000 | 0.000 | -0.001 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.047 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.039 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.311 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.09 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.221 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh vegetables → Potatoes Published effect | -0.001 pp | 0.087 | 0.002 | -0.003 | 1.10 | 8.3 | 8 of 10 | -0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.087 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits and vegetables → Fresh fruits → Bananas Published effect | -0.001 pp | 0.113 | 0.002 | -0.003 | -0.80 | 4.5 | 4 of 10 | 0.000 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.113 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Cereals and bakery products → Bakery products Published effect | +0.012 pp | 0.765 | 0.015 | -0.003 | 1.70 | 0.8 | 4 of 10 | -0.006 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.7 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.018 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.765 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Alcoholic beverages Published effect | +0.012 pp | 0.828 | 0.017 | -0.005 | 1.40 | 1.2 | 4 of 10 | -0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.012 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.014 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.828 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Pork Unallocated within Pork | -0.001 pp | 0.239 | 0.005 | -0.006 | — | — | — | — | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.288 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.049 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Poultry → Chicken Published effect | -0.002 pp | 0.216 | 0.004 | -0.006 | -0.60 | 4.0 | 4 of 10 | +0.004 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.002 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.006 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.216 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Dairy and related products Unallocated within Dairy and related products | -0.001 pp | 0.280 | 0.006 | -0.007 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.005 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.004 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.726 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.251 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.195 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Meats, poultry, and fish → Meats → Other meats Published effect | -0.003 pp | 0.183 | 0.004 | -0.007 | -1.60 | -0.1 | 4 of 10 | -0.005 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.003 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -1.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.002 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.183 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Other food at home → Fats and oils Published effect | -0.002 pp | 0.243 | 0.005 | -0.007 | -0.80 | 4.0 | 4 of 10 | -0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.002 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.8 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.243 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Household furnishings and supplies → Appliances Published effect | -0.003 pp | 0.221 | 0.004 | -0.007 | -1.00 | 5.7 | 5 of 10 | -0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.003 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -1 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.001 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.221 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Transportation commodities less motor fuel Unallocated within Transportation commodities less motor fuel | +0.002 pp | 0.500 | 0.010 | -0.008 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.009 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.022 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.033 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 7.247 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 4.307 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 2.44 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Other food at home → Other foods Published effect | +0.024 pp | 1.733 | 0.035 | -0.011 | 1.40 | -1.2 | 3 of 10 | -0.012 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.024 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 1.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.733 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Dairy and related products → Cheese and related products Published effect | -0.008 pp | 0.251 | 0.005 | -0.013 | -3.00 | -0.4 | 6 of 10 | +0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.008 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.01 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.251 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Household furnishings and supplies Unallocated within Household furnishings and supplies | +0.031 pp | 2.376 | 0.048 | -0.017 | — | — | — | — | 6 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.007 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.003 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -0.021 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 3.388 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.221 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.791 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Education and communication commodities Published effect | -0.019 pp | 0.732 | 0.015 | -0.034 | -2.60 | 9.6 | 5 of 10 | +0.011 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.019 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -2.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.03 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.732 PERCENT |
| Food → Food at home → Meats, poultry, fish, and eggs → Eggs Published effect | -0.031 pp | 0.154 | 0.003 | -0.034 | -20.60 | 4.3 | 4 of 10 | +0.005 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.031 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -20.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.154 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Household furnishings and supplies → Furniture and bedding Published effect | -0.021 pp | 0.791 | 0.016 | -0.037 | -2.40 | -6.6 | 2 of 10 | -0.014 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.021 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -2.4 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.007 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 0.791 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Transportation commodities less motor fuel → New vehicles Published effect | +0.022 pp | 4.307 | 0.086 | -0.064 | 0.60 | 2.4 | 3 of 11 | +0.002 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.022 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.6 PERCENT Aug 2026 · 0.02 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 4.307 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Medical care services Unallocated within Medical care services | -0.033 pp | 2.046 | 0.041 | -0.074 | — | — | — | — | 8 input rowsSep 2026 · 0.174 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.117 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · 0.036 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 6.765 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 0.949 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.965 PERCENT Sep 2025 · 1.805 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Medical care commodities Published effect | -0.048 pp | 1.503 | 0.030 | -0.078 | -3.30 | -5.8 | 1 of 10 | -0.008 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.048 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -3.3 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.04 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 1.503 PERCENT |
| Commodities less food and energy commodities → Transportation commodities less motor fuel → Used cars and trucks Published effect | -0.033 pp | 2.440 | 0.049 | -0.082 | -1.50 | 6.2 | 4 of 11 | +0.021 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.033 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -1.5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.054 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.44 PERCENT |
| Services less energy services → Transportation services → Motor vehicle insurance Published effect | -0.136 pp | 2.804 | 0.056 | -0.192 | -5.00 | -3.9 | 0 of 9 | +0.006 | 4 input rowsSep 2026 · -0.136 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2026 · -5 PERCENT Aug 2026 · -0.142 PERCENTAGE_POINTS Sep 2025 · 2.804 PERCENT |
From a contribution to a testable cause
Use each high-excess item to choose the next investigation. These are hypotheses, not findings from the current CPI rows. An item that is already easing needs a different response from one that keeps running above the pace.
- Housing: test new-lease rents, vacancies, housing completions and lease-reset lags against rent and owners' equivalent rent. Shelter moves slowly, so its excess fades over many months.
- Energy: separate crude supply, refining margins, utility tariffs and demand using quantities as well as prices. Monetary policy reaches these prices mainly through demand and the dollar.
- Food: examine harvests, livestock supply, input costs and distribution for the specific product.
- Goods: test import costs, tariffs, inventories and quantities sold.
- Other services: compare wages with productivity, capacity and administered prices; investigate insurance and airline fares separately.
A policy claim needs identified effects, plausible implementation lags and employment/output trade-offs. Investors also need market expectations and valuation exposure. CPI contributions alone provide neither.
Conditional outlook · next 12 months
Conditions for 12-month CPI to return to 2.0%
The baseline carries the recent pace of headline CPI forward. Then change the pace of the items ranked above and see how far 12-month inflation would move if only those prices changed. Paces are annualized: 2% means prices rising at a rate equal to 2% a year once fully phased in; 0 means flat prices; a negative pace means falling prices.
12-month CPI inflation: published, baseline and scenario
% · published through Sep 2026, then projected to Sep 2027
No 12-month rate is drawn for Oct 2026: those windows include a month BLS never published (October 2025), and gaps are not filled. Cumulative growth from the release is still in the table.
If the last 12 months' pace of prices continues, 12-month CPI inflation would be 3.7% in September 2027. In 186 past forecasts at this horizon, the same rule's error was between -1.9 and +2.7 points 80% of the time, and 1.5 points on average. With gasoline (all types), owners' equivalent rent of residences, airline fares, hospital services and rent of primary residence at the paces set above, the same arithmetic gives 2.0%, 1.8 points lower. That change is larger than the baseline's typical 12-month error, but it assumes the rest of the basket is unaffected. The rest of the basket is implied to be running at 1.7% a year, within the 1.8% it could run at for 12-month CPI to reach 2.0%.
Historical accuracy of each baseline rule
Mean absolute error of 12-month CPI inflation, percentage points. Every rule is scored on the same past releases, using only outcomes published by September 2026.
| Rule | 3 months ahead | 6 months ahead | 12 months ahead | 80% of 12-month errors | 12-month forecasts scored |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carry forward the last 12 months' pace (selected) | 0.46 | 0.79 | 1.49 | -1.9 to +2.7 | 186 (about 15 separate years) |
| Carry forward the last 3 months' pace | 0.49 | 0.87 | 1.77 | -2.3 to +3.1 | 186 (about 15 separate years) |
| Assume 2.0% a year from the release | 0.46 | 0.75 | 1.33 | -1.0 to +3.4 | 186 (about 15 separate years) |
A lower error is better. The 3-month rule reacts to the latest prints and so inherits their noise: one sharp month of gasoline prices moves it a long way, and extreme months tend to be followed by less extreme ones. Carrying the 12-month pace forward is the standard random-walk benchmark for inflation forecasts. The reference row is not a forecast: it can score well on average when inflation spends long stretches near that pace, while its 80% range shows how far it misses when inflation surges. Errors 12 months ahead overlap, so the evidence is closer to the number of separate years than to the number of forecasts.
Inspect all 12 projected months
| Month | Baseline cumulative % | Scenario cumulative % | 12-month baseline % | 80% band | 12-month scenario % | Every month at 2.0% | Published % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 2026 | 0.31 | 0.26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| Nov 2026 | 0.61 | 0.47 | 4.09 | 3.57 to 4.60 | 3.94 | 3.80 | — |
| Dec 2026 | 0.92 | 0.63 | 4.10 | 3.32 to 4.83 | 3.79 | 3.66 | — |
| Jan 2027 | 1.23 | 0.78 | 4.24 | 3.37 to 5.15 | 3.78 | 3.66 | — |
| Feb 2027 | 1.54 | 0.94 | 4.28 | 3.19 to 5.37 | 3.66 | 3.55 | — |
| Mar 2027 | 1.85 | 1.09 | 3.70 | 2.41 to 5.05 | 2.93 | 2.83 | — |
| Apr 2027 | 2.16 | 1.24 | 3.36 | 1.99 to 5.05 | 2.42 | 2.35 | — |
| May 2027 | 2.48 | 1.39 | 3.19 | 1.67 to 5.13 | 2.09 | 2.03 | — |
| Jun 2027 | 2.79 | 1.53 | 3.94 | 2.32 to 6.14 | 2.67 | 2.63 | — |
| Jul 2027 | 3.11 | 1.68 | 4.18 | 2.56 to 6.56 | 2.74 | 2.73 | — |
| Aug 2027 | 3.42 | 1.82 | 4.09 | 2.38 to 6.69 | 2.48 | 2.49 | — |
| Sep 2027 | 3.74 | 1.96 | 3.74 | 1.87 to 6.41 | 1.96 | 2.00 | — |
No probability is assigned to the scenario. The band shows how far the same baseline rule missed in the past; it is not a promise about the future and does not cover the scenario's assumptions. Substitution, changing weights, second-round effects (energy feeding into fares and goods) and policy feedback can change the result. The Fed's 2% objective is for PCE inflation, not CPI.
Methods, statistical practice and reproducible inputs
Pressure points. Excess = published BLS effect − base-period relative importance × reference pace ÷ 100, where the base period is 12 months (or one month) before the release, matching how an effect is weighted. Over the disjoint frontier the excesses plus a small residual equal all-items effects minus the reference pace exactly.
Baseline. Carrying forward the 12-month pace sets every future month to (1 + 12-month CPI change)^(1/12); the 3-month rule uses the geometric mean of the last three SA monthly changes. A month's projected 12-month rate compounds the SA monthly changes already published in its window with the projected months, so base effects are included.
Scenario. Selected items use the release's relative importance as fixed proxy weights. After the delay, each item's monthly log price change moves linearly to the chosen pace over the phase-in. Scenario index = baseline index + Σ weight × (scenario item level − baseline item level). Prices of the rest of the basket follow the baseline.
Uncertainty. Each rule is replayed at every past release where all rules can be computed, using only outcomes published by the selected release. The band is the 10th to 90th percentile of signed errors at each horizon (linear interpolation between order statistics), shown only with at least 24 errors. The backtest uses the current snapshot's values, not the data available at each past release.
Statistical practice. Reading framework: Wheelan's Naked Statistics, Spiegelhalter's The Art of Statistics, and Gonick and Smith's The Cartoon Guide to Statistics. Our application is to state the question and the denominator (a share of the gap, not of positive effects), compare with the right counterfactual (a 2% pace, not zero), use robust measures when outliers dominate, prefer a simple benchmark unless a rule beats it out of sample, beware regression to the mean in short windows, and show uncertainty next to every projection. The formulas are our explicit models, not methods attributed to these books.
Use BLS effects for historical attribution and relative importance for weights. Own price rates are never labelled as contributions. Next research additions: PCE contributions, exact component indexes and weight vintages, real-time data vintages for the backtest, and identified policy models with employment trade-offs.
Refresh 4523f1d2-40c6-52a4-b857-e523536583f3 · us-inflation-eb32963698e74efd · published 2026-10-14 17:11:40Z · database ingestion 2026-10-14 17:11:40Z · USA/USD · monthly data.
Matched monthly observations
Co-movement and timing analysis
Choose a potential driver and CPI outcome. Oil and the Fed rate use monthly changes; openings and layoffs use 12-month percentage changes. Payroll change and wage growth are already rates or changes. A positive lag compares the driver month with a later CPI month. Coefficients need at least 36 matched months.
Descriptive association only. Common shocks, trend and policy responses can affect both series. The interval excludes zero, which describes co-movement in this sample, not a cause. The month after a Fed move can reflect the Fed reacting to prior inflation. Year-on-year windows overlap, so neighbouring months are near-copies; the interval counts them as fewer independent observations. Trying many drivers and lags will eventually turn up a strong-looking correlation by chance.
Inspect 198 matched months and serving row IDs
| Driver month | Driver value | CPI month | CPI value | Observation IDs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 2010 | -2.47 | Feb 2010 | -0.10 | 47bf0afb-5840-5aaf-9509-f260e778dbb0 · dfe0d399-3887-5efd-a52e-61a6bcfaed5e |
| Mar 2010 | 6.30 | Mar 2010 | 0.03 | 52bb778f-8c7a-511d-b262-4ffd81a3be6a · b2af50bb-7a0d-5cfe-b991-b53aa61a5d53 |
| Apr 2010 | 3.80 | Apr 2010 | 0.02 | 82a6e392-2f2f-5b3c-a5f4-e4ac1094cb72 · 73af06cd-f3d7-580c-9dd3-a2859d9e21ad |
| May 2010 | -12.52 | May 2010 | -0.05 | 716d8560-6337-564b-917a-7d52d51c5037 · 83a74a7d-b9b8-552b-b5ca-d09689ab6613 |
| Jun 2010 | 2.16 | Jun 2010 | -0.04 | 9e5c1aaf-0957-5912-8fc4-98a22e9846b4 · 5458f53f-99bb-5160-b9b1-d8595ac18876 |
| Jul 2010 | 1.31 | Jul 2010 | 0.19 | 6dde3410-9eaa-5546-9177-082c4e8783dc · e5d02492-1b52-5d28-9ed9-71eaa6693a59 |
| Aug 2010 | 0.37 | Aug 2010 | 0.15 | eb3bc40f-24d0-5b98-8972-2b7e513b1263 · 7bf65a63-fb92-56e8-8965-7f33dbf93a0f |
| Sep 2010 | -1.77 | Sep 2010 | 0.16 | c0b2d62a-7a20-5943-9e33-750bc2050172 · d3199111-93d2-5361-86d0-fcf6bc9459bb |
| Oct 2010 | 8.84 | Oct 2010 | 0.35 | f1f80e16-6745-54d8-8ed2-a7486606443c · 4b5205c8-c09e-5595-a639-656e275d260b |
| Nov 2010 | 2.88 | Nov 2010 | 0.25 | a9bac596-b1f4-56f4-b876-325b8830e83b · 31843985-89c9-5ec8-9f8b-d8d7bc3b8d23 |
| Dec 2010 | 5.81 | Dec 2010 | 0.40 | c748a0ab-bab0-5a9c-b16a-0bf98060e84c · 01e01b46-3190-5cd2-a5b4-7d681100116b |
| Jan 2011 | 0.03 | Jan 2011 | 0.32 | 97ac93ab-d9d7-5ae5-96f5-c32edee0ef50 · 10772e04-ea7a-5af1-96b8-54088ec54841 |
| Feb 2011 | -0.66 | Feb 2011 | 0.32 | cc0add36-39b3-587a-855a-dd158416aa57 · da48359e-9e0e-5383-bbdf-47a9ab752c60 |
| Mar 2011 | 16.08 | Mar 2011 | 0.52 | 227b2340-50ab-5799-8e70-10bd525fc5e3 · f560b5db-a249-5405-b24c-4ee55938fdc7 |
| Apr 2011 | 6.36 | Apr 2011 | 0.47 | fad38d60-5c52-5f30-ae1c-154cea9833d6 · 0023762a-4961-57bd-9486-aafd9e7ff718 |
| May 2011 | -6.21 | May 2011 | 0.32 | eac28195-857c-5074-ab09-1c4697838e7f · 712a5bcc-24bc-597d-8f02-83511390c32f |
| Jun 2011 | -5.71 | Jun 2011 | 0.00 | 907c89b9-b460-53fe-a49b-8135b433523a · a4130369-6e64-5e80-a294-b77dae03d6ee |
| Jul 2011 | 0.61 | Jul 2011 | 0.26 | f53690a7-029e-510e-8e6a-3b46eb3187cb · e75a0e8b-f6cd-5244-bf8f-192d7a045e9b |
| Aug 2011 | -11.28 | Aug 2011 | 0.32 | 436e5c2a-8b00-54d0-bf32-b6b2128f4a25 · 4ba4cb25-5fcb-5a6c-8fa9-0e8b7d831697 |
| Sep 2011 | -0.95 | Sep 2011 | 0.22 | df2d4a62-5053-563d-8134-d54cda3ad28b · 85a1476c-cb12-5a41-8dfa-9317f2213e65 |
| Oct 2011 | 0.94 | Oct 2011 | 0.07 | 31a17732-cd45-5296-b88f-ac5d590aa10b · d9d0bec0-ce7f-5347-8266-3bd8aad85d97 |
| Nov 2011 | 12.56 | Nov 2011 | 0.18 | 0547eadd-0bcb-5132-aa28-254cf0f97ccf · 3d9b5fae-a8a5-528f-8f5a-d4c8d7a2b1df |
| Dec 2011 | 1.44 | Dec 2011 | 0.02 | 9a775583-2f49-596b-8d22-c0336c4c1450 · f4e1fb67-4d6d-558d-ac58-f4e6fe33aeeb |
| Jan 2012 | 1.74 | Jan 2012 | 0.27 | 739e6757-9a61-5fa4-9472-25f40867793d · 1e4a185d-e97f-5c2f-a043-19dc4c3fbeb6 |
| Feb 2012 | 1.93 | Feb 2012 | 0.21 | aa040d0c-16db-50e1-9555-39d71208c3a8 · 67477876-100f-55e7-88a9-4dd60961aa52 |
| Mar 2012 | 3.87 | Mar 2012 | 0.21 | 2c798bcb-f0cb-52c4-b1d2-4527a29a8a10 · b253fefe-8c89-5516-be0f-da1686b40bc3 |
| Apr 2012 | -2.67 | Apr 2012 | 0.17 | f5bc30a3-2780-5100-9fcb-9701e820a410 · 84a371bf-4cb1-5bbf-bfcd-1fe8474bd710 |
| May 2012 | -8.39 | May 2012 | -0.21 | fe7ec07f-f153-515b-978a-f35464754054 · 70dcfbf7-32d0-547d-bca7-eb0b1ea16594 |
| Jun 2012 | -13.05 | Jun 2012 | -0.08 | 0138d302-d5c9-5a91-bbe4-7950ee6fad2e · 91233b34-1779-5729-af0d-b19723b8db75 |
| Jul 2012 | 6.79 | Jul 2012 | 0.03 | 4fc82907-c5ce-5776-aa40-6e7a4a27a72c · 22234f96-85fe-5c47-a850-37b2e1ba9ab5 |
| Aug 2012 | 7.09 | Aug 2012 | 0.58 | d38ea130-34fe-5ac1-a821-84df8dfb5a4c · b3f24746-4645-5870-a215-7d08ebe116fd |
| Sep 2012 | 0.41 | Sep 2012 | 0.48 | 07ce5076-3575-5b81-9c51-6c45e9f653a6 · 46066d20-2fc0-5692-8e12-e4ae9d1ea2d6 |
| Oct 2012 | -5.31 | Oct 2012 | 0.27 | 27c7dd5a-8361-57c9-9de2-7d40fb5b8c2c · a7f4c8c6-17e1-5d71-a1bb-2c2b1d24e9a4 |
| Nov 2012 | -3.31 | Nov 2012 | -0.17 | f3e9b095-d34a-55d5-9de5-ad3c84ef4dba · 1123bdc5-15ff-55c7-9f0a-4ed8a036420f |
| Dec 2012 | 1.53 | Dec 2012 | -0.01 | 74ecc35d-2956-598d-95b3-e4d8d52802da · edabec44-571c-5a6b-8446-5b5fffa19336 |
| Jan 2013 | 7.85 | Jan 2013 | 0.20 | cbb84639-a033-555e-ac24-7428a77f1d68 · f9a5ab71-1aef-57e4-a8e0-5497ed1170b8 |
| Feb 2013 | 0.58 | Feb 2013 | 0.54 | e79f5a25-4819-5621-88ea-9a80bff92262 · 1eca92aa-837f-5bf3-9556-9429ff7a4e4c |
| Mar 2013 | -2.49 | Mar 2013 | -0.28 | 745dbf00-101c-54ad-89c3-d3972fa50018 · a19d9fff-7553-51fd-9748-20be80d208b0 |
| Apr 2013 | -0.99 | Apr 2013 | -0.21 | 36972fb5-21ed-5dcb-bf77-e563776dd2a7 · 7fe33c54-f5d5-5a00-81d3-8d2827624caf |
| May 2013 | 2.66 | May 2013 | 0.04 | fc324eaf-f4eb-5412-bb94-1cc4fe3da832 · c8ed1c56-7f73-59fc-a74a-79805f6e4d0e |
| Jun 2013 | 1.38 | Jun 2013 | 0.24 | f812def6-5df5-5786-8403-4f24cff98c93 · 6cba1123-3c49-591a-a87c-293a8eed6a72 |
| Jul 2013 | 9.29 | Jul 2013 | 0.20 | e034aa4e-5a5f-51a0-a962-aaee06a447ac · 14a636a8-2a9e-51cb-b278-e98df6db91b6 |
| Aug 2013 | 1.82 | Aug 2013 | 0.24 | 03e867e7-68e5-55d2-9488-1d12006a9a31 · c6a14202-d39f-53be-8db6-3375c64df45c |
| Sep 2013 | -0.27 | Sep 2013 | 0.04 | 0bd62cc7-7ed1-578a-859e-605bcd8ccfe9 · dfae0d64-1fe6-5598-a0cd-374053fa853f |
| Oct 2013 | -5.41 | Oct 2013 | 0.05 | 8f2a5ef0-cfeb-591d-8d04-d1adbd7d33be · 566fb0fc-025c-58ba-b6d0-420055f7f689 |
| Nov 2013 | -6.64 | Nov 2013 | 0.18 | 41dc9b6a-8ca1-57d6-a9eb-8b5f4f62aaf9 · 20d4777e-237b-58eb-b080-afdcae78a378 |
| Dec 2013 | 3.97 | Dec 2013 | 0.26 | 9c32aa2a-9a9b-5229-ab87-cb86700164bc · dc8afaf2-1928-5baa-8ab6-5403c38ffa44 |
| Jan 2014 | -3.05 | Jan 2014 | 0.24 | 6eb27943-8cb5-5c16-a68e-a40a071b0a1c · af7fb07b-9cd3-5aac-adde-7f46d6cfbd1c |
| Feb 2014 | 6.55 | Feb 2014 | 0.11 | 2f87c318-bbf9-54d3-9187-d83383be3460 · dbfefd24-c82d-5373-bace-6b44bce4cbba |
| Mar 2014 | -0.01 | Mar 2014 | 0.20 | a7e9621c-2e92-5b5c-abc7-9a3aaad1e59a · 821cfae5-bbef-5829-be54-fd9354f3f06f |
| Apr 2014 | 1.26 | Apr 2014 | 0.19 | ca32cdea-e286-5c6e-b71a-30c9e45876aa · 3342d0d4-8aa5-5f07-90be-0c36799d7d7c |
| May 2014 | 0.11 | May 2014 | 0.19 | 7b9d848a-94d5-59e9-86b0-11f8fed952e9 · bb835e83-e24a-57ba-9feb-5f2e9bed6b91 |
| Jun 2014 | 3.54 | Jun 2014 | 0.13 | 6bc2bc55-da2f-5108-be5b-f3e121292788 · ededa498-1378-5356-83d9-ed64d52f6f98 |
| Jul 2014 | -2.08 | Jul 2014 | 0.11 | be611354-9578-5113-99a4-20382ff7002e · 709b9e73-0151-54a2-9397-db35a459b82f |
| Aug 2014 | -6.81 | Aug 2014 | -0.02 | 08cb11b6-71fe-5ad3-84f1-256615ad2b15 · 0789aa5c-2e9e-5fa8-a222-6f127da7cb7e |
| Sep 2014 | -3.44 | Sep 2014 | 0.01 | 5eeed0ec-37ec-51eb-8fda-aba1fb367295 · 6a27f775-5247-5378-a0d7-ee926f4bd773 |
| Oct 2014 | -9.16 | Oct 2014 | -0.02 | bf5a4085-e8db-5cf0-ac84-7a02641b0306 · 200468d8-767c-5472-9bab-e4dce8114d87 |
| Nov 2014 | -10.49 | Nov 2014 | -0.19 | fcdc73ea-14ba-5c81-8ab8-4d2f8ff166f6 · f5127f9f-187a-592f-a035-d412926910a1 |
| Dec 2014 | -22.06 | Dec 2014 | -0.31 | 8ef4e735-146e-51b7-a375-2615808ea4be · f5429253-2900-5f8d-835c-461ba9948fa7 |
| Jan 2015 | -18.88 | Jan 2015 | -0.64 | 40473705-019c-598c-a0c7-ad1aefb6efb1 · df21c670-6ec0-579b-a2d3-d2c0edc5cf52 |
| Feb 2015 | 6.00 | Feb 2015 | 0.25 | 5b6c2078-276c-5ffc-bbb2-2bd681207cd9 · 5ff1e769-3c05-5ad7-97ec-71c8d2d4b3df |
| Mar 2015 | -5.84 | Mar 2015 | 0.27 | fe65ad5d-9e01-5ff0-a769-ef0f114745a4 · b7f0f161-378e-5ae5-991b-590b4c12e873 |
| Apr 2015 | 13.86 | Apr 2015 | 0.10 | 554370f3-31f9-5ae9-833b-81ceae4985dc · abf32f11-4dd7-5747-8023-c4583a74fc5b |
| May 2015 | 8.84 | May 2015 | 0.33 | 8955efa0-a887-5c94-a03b-519875ccf2d8 · 2f646b46-7929-5c14-a8df-ce01f8bfa363 |
| Jun 2015 | 0.94 | Jun 2015 | 0.28 | 577bcb0f-dd88-5304-b6cf-6f112d1ff5b9 · 7c66959f-6c32-507c-b280-35767e5e8889 |
| Jul 2015 | -14.91 | Jul 2015 | 0.16 | fcd2104d-1630-58d7-a152-4b724008162f · 13bd3796-6c0b-54ce-8d8a-87fad4c5436f |
| Aug 2015 | -15.78 | Aug 2015 | 0.00 | 4ab4c70c-b4da-5945-a62e-db938bdfbccd · 6326711e-d5c9-5da1-9d2e-b85642e3efad |
| Sep 2015 | 6.09 | Sep 2015 | -0.22 | 715f1fb1-d0c3-5c49-9e77-30b8c3f33c88 · ad6cbfe4-445f-5de4-87a1-f4a14b6d5435 |
| Oct 2015 | 1.64 | Oct 2015 | 0.10 | 00bbaeac-25d9-5cef-b61a-4e7b0c9ddb99 · 9d4a01bc-2f07-5a50-8c99-e572908093a8 |
| Nov 2015 | -8.18 | Nov 2015 | 0.12 | 8357273b-73fc-51df-ab63-69e617995ac9 · 5adde6fc-f0ae-542d-b1f9-bf3a5ac0ad91 |
| Dec 2015 | -12.38 | Dec 2015 | -0.11 | 718fba24-69d4-5346-b600-c0f7b33700db · 9aa88649-0f86-513a-a889-8ac87bda81d3 |
| Jan 2016 | -14.80 | Jan 2016 | -0.05 | 40fce37e-1e9c-5bed-9dc7-b2c679a7daf2 · 16e536fd-a2a4-51d0-964f-6c384e4deba1 |
| Feb 2016 | -4.29 | Feb 2016 | -0.13 | 1b932d1e-7b0b-5ae6-b17e-f453df311aae · 717cc282-885c-5032-918e-a55d9e913acf |
| Mar 2016 | 23.82 | Mar 2016 | 0.31 | a2bcf730-a8ad-52f8-88ef-ecc9b5d41580 · 451aceae-7d6b-546b-9929-0151a61e002c |
| Apr 2016 | 8.55 | Apr 2016 | 0.38 | e96bb910-f77b-53b4-812f-84b42d97a4e1 · 8423c0bc-198e-51f9-a0e1-8503efd6c6ea |
| May 2016 | 14.62 | May 2016 | 0.24 | b1b1942e-6360-525b-bda7-2fd69c460e45 · eb830bcd-29cd-51fe-b9d7-44cfba553858 |
| Jun 2016 | 4.38 | Jun 2016 | 0.28 | 74dd53fd-4818-5d29-96df-945d4f8a31ae · 0545efe3-1036-5159-ad23-570d24781a8e |
| Jul 2016 | -8.42 | Jul 2016 | -0.05 | 936716bf-1ec9-57a1-921c-a60a22c76602 · 7d5d12c1-4935-517e-90e6-bb482eaa638d |
| Aug 2016 | 0.16 | Aug 2016 | 0.18 | f7312088-5a6e-5300-ac67-9f54e47169a1 · 02c5c7ac-547f-57f6-a0ef-1ff957a484f6 |
| Sep 2016 | 1.02 | Sep 2016 | 0.26 | a22fec1d-0c2a-5bfc-af24-078080d391aa · cebc8aff-be7e-51d5-826c-82dcdda37285 |
| Oct 2016 | 10.17 | Oct 2016 | 0.23 | d4050c79-0bd2-5d4c-9b5e-34296643d17f · 8e4af42c-1950-56d7-8265-f22c05457526 |
| Nov 2016 | -8.27 | Nov 2016 | 0.12 | 032f6103-ee30-5934-af9d-8866208eddb0 · 2762ca20-1390-5e6b-8677-b9710b3fd73c |
| Dec 2016 | 13.82 | Dec 2016 | 0.25 | 52ae4425-a588-590d-a284-c7ae051a64eb · 08bc10c0-c25c-5972-b91a-eb45805fa2f7 |
| Jan 2017 | 1.03 | Jan 2017 | 0.40 | d504d6cc-8e2d-572c-ac34-cd0031815794 · baf1a3c3-9373-5528-85fb-3c839b5f6a0f |
| Feb 2017 | 1.84 | Feb 2017 | 0.16 | 9ee61a07-e691-5336-80d5-05bbfd0177a5 · d424b655-35bc-51ed-bdbb-0b1e5029498e |
| Mar 2017 | -7.74 | Mar 2017 | -0.05 | 109151e1-0795-5365-8d17-596d75630dbe · 26202916-918a-57c4-a1f1-d8283243275d |
| Apr 2017 | 3.51 | Apr 2017 | 0.12 | e91707a2-33da-51dd-baa1-566ae503b656 · fa732c4b-5af7-5fd5-ab6b-6733884e6d6e |
| May 2017 | -5.06 | May 2017 | -0.08 | 0a9559da-c2d1-581e-a886-0b6c9151c2d2 · 58899f0e-21ef-50b3-8a9a-8a8fc7a21671 |
| Jun 2017 | -6.80 | Jun 2017 | 0.07 | c7a504f4-229d-52cf-b0d8-2c8a30a3ef95 · 613c271d-a7aa-57e0-a327-1b9d2889cc4a |
| Jul 2017 | 3.22 | Jul 2017 | 0.03 | 0800aa49-4883-5460-8ad6-645fc73ea35b · 07d09718-d98a-534c-bada-ecf3bb2e02f1 |
| Aug 2017 | 3.02 | Aug 2017 | 0.38 | c0d5301b-fca9-5935-9f5f-0b5ca7f5d34e · 08cbd9ba-125e-5354-8332-4760f22d5852 |
| Sep 2017 | 3.72 | Sep 2017 | 0.51 | 0583551b-7b5a-5d75-90b0-54ca2d518c06 · df3d900b-2c13-5495-86c7-aec5032dae3f |
| Oct 2017 | 3.52 | Oct 2017 | 0.08 | 4c53e939-2aa6-546d-ba6f-819ac3d9a533 · f92da402-f629-5781-8ddd-a68fea023913 |
| Nov 2017 | 9.81 | Nov 2017 | 0.27 | 0455176e-6d42-5fee-92f8-3c9dba989e70 · d9ad5f02-a168-50b2-94f4-14598df745b1 |
| Dec 2017 | 2.19 | Dec 2017 | 0.21 | b704ea47-1b7c-5da2-ad7a-44c451b37f98 · cc498362-d8c0-5251-8ab6-b45a6bf8c216 |
| Jan 2018 | 10.05 | Jan 2018 | 0.43 | 43ff9064-cafc-541f-9687-bd7ce0e08a8b · 1f0812d7-a80a-5665-b015-3afd30bfb258 |
| Feb 2018 | -2.31 | Feb 2018 | 0.27 | b99c0309-28ab-5d68-a942-91f42a848657 · 36f63988-5a92-59fb-9102-2ad0460b16bc |
| Mar 2018 | 0.80 | Mar 2018 | 0.02 | ee3b603b-fffe-5977-9e52-f9aa73c813c9 · ff453108-eb4c-55fb-ab99-a06d0a42eab1 |
| Apr 2018 | 5.63 | Apr 2018 | 0.26 | 17c58b31-d431-56dc-b47e-d77fe513e9dc · 7a3d99f1-11ae-5900-8999-c2c68b531dd7 |
| May 2018 | 5.62 | May 2018 | 0.23 | e9fafc3d-9cec-5869-b0aa-427864b93618 · 37792c1a-34b7-5c66-97c2-ec8550a56d9a |
| Jun 2018 | -3.01 | Jun 2018 | 0.09 | 2bdd683e-cc5c-5f05-a875-9c9c5979545e · e7009fdb-b102-5cc3-a578-f01986004efb |
| Jul 2018 | 4.58 | Jul 2018 | 0.08 | eebead14-1a8d-5f4e-80f9-14945dc275ca · 7fd43c55-0460-5cc6-bb2b-c95ec2129591 |
| Aug 2018 | -4.12 | Aug 2018 | 0.18 | 40cacba5-8943-509e-beae-29a84a5b1c47 · eb883fbc-7570-5d4d-918d-e2929c440c71 |
| Sep 2018 | 3.20 | Sep 2018 | 0.21 | 82b86b6b-be25-5654-9817-815e7c15c85c · b31fb076-5fa2-5114-9b32-f7444c73b76f |
| Oct 2018 | 0.74 | Oct 2018 | 0.23 | b23450e4-42df-5f9c-9da7-17e18539d467 · bc6172a4-53ba-5ccc-8bf8-22020e93b528 |
| Nov 2018 | -19.48 | Nov 2018 | -0.07 | 7a83c8ac-2672-53a0-855c-1359e82914c1 · 91d2e8f1-db19-5cb3-b615-6c01adff9345 |
| Dec 2018 | -13.06 | Dec 2018 | 0.07 | a32f20ae-7c51-5e6e-9c2a-95da92ceb112 · 3cc160a6-3e8c-5f60-94b8-ecc563d5da87 |
| Jan 2019 | 3.74 | Jan 2019 | -0.08 | f1d40d83-dec9-5d52-a8d0-716b91c91e78 · 95fd4dc6-e590-539f-baa9-1cc564116915 |
| Feb 2019 | 6.97 | Feb 2019 | 0.30 | 36a3abc9-e606-599e-a792-c2227d48464d · f12edac2-3524-53d7-8268-a2eb676c1ed8 |
| Mar 2019 | 5.82 | Mar 2019 | 0.38 | a1acb284-e7dd-5419-8347-f00a9a49e325 · b667bf81-81d0-5203-a673-ddd34f6fbd08 |
| Apr 2019 | 9.82 | Apr 2019 | 0.38 | a82c8fd7-9a7b-53d0-9b15-214a2c54f091 · 9ca2d27c-9f59-5346-8347-70feeb1c287d |
| May 2019 | -4.75 | May 2019 | 0.02 | 9cb0b8b5-f5f8-5f6b-8b4b-33eb0abbbe8e · c9df8846-8e90-5a2b-95a7-8d844b8a3b09 |
| Jun 2019 | -10.14 | Jun 2019 | -0.03 | 7e3c37ee-c35c-5b5e-a642-9654e01e5b9b · 063b0c0f-a2ab-51f8-887b-6b1736c7cce2 |
| Jul 2019 | 4.94 | Jul 2019 | 0.23 | 0ce1dd1a-d9e7-5d5a-bc7c-f4fa178025a5 · 4e7bc6e0-b0cc-5498-8796-5de20f2782a0 |
| Aug 2019 | -4.45 | Aug 2019 | 0.09 | ca3e4986-04d7-549a-ae63-0674371e50dc · a221f05e-b31c-52ce-bdba-a82e0d32fb33 |
| Sep 2019 | 3.91 | Sep 2019 | 0.15 | 2c2e4358-fe97-594f-837f-5140b4e466db · e27ed270-6d1b-5d0e-a5f2-71569e3104cb |
| Oct 2019 | -5.24 | Oct 2019 | 0.28 | 37af6740-22d3-5f47-968d-477d04102dcb · 0af0867d-d3e6-5162-9890-aef875811bb4 |
| Nov 2019 | 5.72 | Nov 2019 | 0.28 | 1f5f6d64-a5e7-58a6-a251-eaaed71177cb · 74a97fb0-f4f4-5baa-b7cb-f5a5bd61d3ab |
| Dec 2019 | 4.85 | Dec 2019 | 0.29 | dc1dcd7a-56bc-509b-bea8-2cf3a545ac8f · cc4ed7ec-4443-5fe3-b8e4-3e1a168e9025 |
| Jan 2020 | -3.84 | Jan 2020 | 0.19 | eba8fa80-5eaf-53ba-b711-5da208f38065 · 39f9e56b-56dd-5c3c-9fcb-7e8e85776bd3 |
| Feb 2020 | -12.13 | Feb 2020 | 0.05 | 09d552c4-d3ff-5448-bce2-cf5fbed24253 · 0b75b4bc-558d-520b-b830-959f07519fd9 |
| Mar 2020 | -42.21 | Mar 2020 | -0.45 | 12df3d7d-f0cc-5621-806f-eb5a210fe80e · 83648ea3-d849-5c99-857f-053a5ff8f807 |
| Apr 2020 | -43.35 | Apr 2020 | -0.79 | 42790712-4266-50f9-9809-47c7b7d68e81 · 88f62e94-b70f-5011-8936-e4da63e4c4fe |
| May 2020 | 72.61 | May 2020 | -0.09 | 973b08fd-7212-546b-8890-4b6a206cb629 · eeecc0f6-3c20-5f5f-84f0-f408f817dddf |
| Jun 2020 | 34.12 | Jun 2020 | 0.48 | 6a498939-9612-57e2-adf3-70724c141312 · 1b6494a5-0533-53df-b693-3c2690d13c59 |
| Jul 2020 | 6.27 | Jul 2020 | 0.51 | 41459a42-5f28-51a0-b59e-5f4bd9ebdbd7 · f8ef9043-e979-538b-a79a-1ea27f38afb7 |
| Aug 2020 | 4.00 | Aug 2020 | 0.37 | a21777bf-625a-5ce1-9002-c42f527b8c3d · 8edb7b30-d993-5539-9539-b4e3f0d189e6 |
| Sep 2020 | -6.39 | Sep 2020 | 0.26 | a635b8ed-17b6-57d0-b4ee-0a7dcc5c4e9f · 3aeccaee-ddd9-5990-94a5-56c93a17198b |
| Oct 2020 | -0.60 | Oct 2020 | 0.12 | 5cccb02d-dfc3-5f24-8b70-59a1f676dbf4 · d07d32eb-0a54-51b6-8034-f9007274c6b5 |
| Nov 2020 | 3.91 | Nov 2020 | 0.23 | 05064c93-bb02-5d59-80fb-d2914dcbcc1d · b41b8519-fdc5-5bd3-9e16-97945e4a5378 |
| Dec 2020 | 14.87 | Dec 2020 | 0.43 | f65e6a15-22a9-5c85-b1d6-84c60f332822 · af7ebe92-8a47-5ce5-a053-fd518e7b4846 |
| Jan 2021 | 10.60 | Jan 2021 | 0.24 | fbfcebde-6de1-5687-9bc1-cb4b45c2d741 · 3ccec982-a3d6-583e-9d06-4a82c4e9d0e5 |
| Feb 2021 | 13.53 | Feb 2021 | 0.34 | 10c7f64b-31ed-53cd-b53b-a00510438b9e · 97bba4c1-c324-529e-83df-0033ecbd75a7 |
| Mar 2021 | 5.57 | Mar 2021 | 0.52 | fd20dbff-7b8f-5eb6-be28-e1ebfc66eec1 · 1e89fbb0-6f0b-5e68-bb9c-7e9a4eb8c511 |
| Apr 2021 | -0.99 | Apr 2021 | 0.62 | 5726a497-aca5-506c-84ce-7c1d02515d18 · 09ef12a6-c165-599e-9f88-a2a1e3c30e20 |
| May 2021 | 5.59 | May 2021 | 0.66 | d3f4a353-05b4-5e6e-a5e7-3a13d998f7fd · 7d78bda1-7853-5084-9d47-d15b909a9425 |
| Jun 2021 | 9.53 | Jun 2021 | 0.85 | 017770b0-aa19-5d75-beef-2382c5ea6033 · f5a466fa-3b60-597c-b9de-690b5d7a3c19 |
| Jul 2021 | 1.55 | Jul 2021 | 0.46 | 52dd0ea0-260f-5585-a2fd-8ec50de2dd84 · 19ae1979-6c67-59f6-b667-9fdbf0300947 |
| Aug 2021 | -6.56 | Aug 2021 | 0.28 | f57f3362-62e2-5b24-9bda-442255297d93 · bb7ae9e9-6812-5663-aa31-98830d308628 |
| Sep 2021 | 5.78 | Sep 2021 | 0.45 | 393f37f2-dd13-59d1-82dd-ccfd3bddc9e5 · 377d0437-25bf-5d8f-8a01-c42ed6ff1155 |
| Oct 2021 | 13.72 | Oct 2021 | 0.96 | a1028473-1a82-5b4d-a4e2-32280486ca29 · ec1ffb63-b995-551e-93a3-45223e1717eb |
| Nov 2021 | -2.86 | Nov 2021 | 0.86 | 909790d6-fdb8-56f2-af09-2f1ed1f8c6d8 · c2bd373d-b4ce-5fc8-87f5-aaf5395863fe |
| Dec 2021 | -9.39 | Dec 2021 | 0.69 | f8509a0f-8d0f-54d2-981a-5bc7be755353 · 6625f44e-32a3-5155-88b5-0ce620bd4065 |
| Jan 2022 | 16.05 | Jan 2022 | 0.60 | e66b2e9b-f5e5-5f38-a5d6-74e217592468 · 1153be24-0635-5e96-b4d7-767d098cbc29 |
| Feb 2022 | 10.12 | Feb 2022 | 0.69 | 99dc30d8-35d5-505d-9a68-425fe5170d20 · f06b6117-4b00-5a34-b58d-765a7a6a169e |
| Mar 2022 | 18.40 | Mar 2022 | 1.12 | d623b67f-9bf8-51d6-90dc-648f74ef6ef5 · 545ff6eb-6c4e-5a92-8f40-6eabd4ecf76b |
| Apr 2022 | -6.20 | Apr 2022 | 0.31 | 2eb138e0-29e7-5086-a8d8-c15ad3b92cfa · ffe9a725-96d4-5f4a-8f4e-ca10c11df6ce |
| May 2022 | 7.64 | May 2022 | 0.95 | d7125444-c7d5-5fd2-b290-24e88452f4e8 · 917cbac6-57da-536d-bdc7-9896a0389b6c |
| Jun 2022 | 4.82 | Jun 2022 | 1.26 | 9a3eb056-9f19-5a51-94ad-538bd8916051 · ff865af9-dadb-5129-a453-4aa7247428ad |
| Jul 2022 | -11.51 | Jul 2022 | -0.01 | b3e512a2-fa73-50b0-84e7-fb3b07ab0c2c · 0da17285-bfb0-595d-9080-04982e4c66f6 |
| Aug 2022 | -7.83 | Aug 2022 | 0.06 | 993e7625-2119-58db-9257-db338afdeef3 · be2c8521-b624-54e9-a4e4-c9d917a02d41 |
| Sep 2022 | -10.04 | Sep 2022 | 0.42 | 5fc039dc-1784-5c9f-bbb0-e6c13e8c955d · 9861adc6-e463-59ca-b483-f1a5143d0ccf |
| Oct 2022 | 3.91 | Oct 2022 | 0.56 | 4ba9a49c-0477-5d5f-a61c-206c8686d85d · 1765631c-d7fa-566e-9e28-c1fa12c7e4d4 |
| Nov 2022 | -3.64 | Nov 2022 | 0.26 | 6f47e9e4-14d9-5f09-9e89-97174e1a853b · d792008f-e078-5106-b5a3-8b2cbc4e2619 |
| Dec 2022 | -9.40 | Dec 2022 | 0.02 | 4ab72036-49e3-5dfd-91cf-b254dd17eb13 · 35700a66-5214-573f-93f7-367e0a3fe95c |
| Jan 2023 | 2.21 | Jan 2023 | 0.53 | ddafd8f1-c8fd-5e81-9adb-63964c823578 · 0c8063fd-c6ef-5bad-8926-d62720eb18c8 |
| Feb 2023 | -1.65 | Feb 2023 | 0.34 | 5938950b-ec7f-5e8e-9cdd-3230b4bc5794 · 6ff8db9d-6e89-59d6-8d5f-bc81157be7a7 |
| Mar 2023 | -4.63 | Mar 2023 | 0.12 | 6bbd6c21-c452-50c7-9d24-7f28cad2ef82 · f90138b6-8602-5553-89bd-66a759d327c3 |
| Apr 2023 | 8.42 | Apr 2023 | 0.34 | f2578bb9-dde0-520f-9a4e-852810d25857 · f1a4749f-d3e8-5408-9634-0d2b3f27c44c |
| May 2023 | -9.90 | May 2023 | 0.16 | 238a05f1-555c-54b7-8b0f-11ed846a0877 · 24a4f05a-79fb-5232-abcd-95d552b61599 |
| Jun 2023 | -1.86 | Jun 2023 | 0.22 | fa4cfb0f-29a2-58b9-a0ad-7ad43e1c5991 · c52de4c6-dcad-5546-89af-f160ae7b450e |
| Jul 2023 | 8.29 | Jul 2023 | 0.20 | bfb12eb0-2180-5cad-854d-a4e889c42f58 · 68bf4f67-8395-5a1b-97eb-2852a977a14f |
| Aug 2023 | 6.99 | Aug 2023 | 0.48 | 0ec42662-c311-5e7d-a9f6-f9677b8f838c · baa9bde3-1c14-5462-baa8-5be21e07b5e6 |
| Sep 2023 | 9.88 | Sep 2023 | 0.39 | c11d8bd7-dd24-5fe7-b880-438132a9ee25 · a8a7560c-9338-52d2-adcf-f7552809bb9e |
| Oct 2023 | -4.23 | Oct 2023 | 0.14 | bb2ef324-e696-5251-91e8-0ac8a97a0309 · ea294de1-5900-57e5-8ba0-e79d5c70a353 |
| Nov 2023 | -9.29 | Nov 2023 | 0.15 | 0cb6bfd9-e2bc-521d-8026-8dfda36893e6 · d40cd8fb-b47a-50d7-aeaf-a368c6160043 |
| Dec 2023 | -7.45 | Dec 2023 | 0.19 | d60ad88d-5237-5287-ba87-04547207b5fe · fbde1e42-cc57-51f4-bbf5-b60fc886ed19 |
| Jan 2024 | 3.13 | Jan 2024 | 0.31 | df2eb720-c9b6-521e-a976-1eb090adf377 · b652a55a-1527-5d98-b7ee-cadd3a5c6592 |
| Feb 2024 | 4.18 | Feb 2024 | 0.41 | 41f9dc9a-5570-5f6d-b971-978f446cfb0b · f9c59ea1-9d0a-58a5-b090-e2503c7d55e3 |
| Mar 2024 | 5.22 | Mar 2024 | 0.44 | a0b47d2e-4672-5185-a469-e7092352b21e · f130ac91-18ad-52ed-8431-c1138609d9b7 |
| Apr 2024 | 5.01 | Apr 2024 | 0.22 | 59353564-6252-59bb-ae22-77e1fe5c1497 · c30e3d27-9302-57b9-aaa4-6b9576fa1f66 |
| May 2024 | -6.24 | May 2024 | 0.05 | 62624914-90d9-53c0-b2c0-5cd40eda4c14 · 110749c0-4a5b-586d-8f87-9b720f611529 |
| Jun 2024 | -0.32 | Jun 2024 | -0.04 | 5d06d2fc-9612-5086-bc30-fbd280e0c1c7 · 0247b728-c93a-5bad-bb5c-67d8f48e907f |
| Jul 2024 | 2.55 | Jul 2024 | 0.17 | 31736ed6-e970-5cb2-83bc-807d08849277 · e692ab3b-f944-5d47-b4a9-6d2ec482d979 |
| Aug 2024 | -6.26 | Aug 2024 | 0.16 | 8d42d2ef-3bd7-58dc-b871-a5be2c6bf4e8 · 2635ab41-2b8b-59a9-9d1a-6c4ad6c77aee |
| Sep 2024 | -8.41 | Sep 2024 | 0.21 | e1dc0401-aa27-5c25-bd6c-2e540dea092c · 053be38e-1904-5dea-b505-08d3fac6fac6 |
| Oct 2024 | 2.49 | Oct 2024 | 0.29 | d4e42498-e78c-575a-a4ed-63ecf1b2ab9a · 76c50742-2fba-51af-b115-7443cdf8db97 |
| Nov 2024 | -2.83 | Nov 2024 | 0.28 | 5d9abbe6-f974-5fac-a5b3-23b386682e8e · 52de1215-0256-5c05-8ec0-306d52940897 |
| Dec 2024 | 0.24 | Dec 2024 | 0.34 | 6234426b-6650-564f-b867-e9f08152e93a · 14fa8880-4fba-51c8-89b3-f2c0f02c39a6 |
| Jan 2025 | 8.02 | Jan 2025 | 0.43 | 44c1b4f7-7c15-5457-a230-75b304264e8e · 37c91b81-617a-5325-820e-b07f6ced05a0 |
| Feb 2025 | -5.56 | Feb 2025 | 0.23 | 317efaa7-ddcb-50de-9dbc-19bb2b904d73 · 89060afd-2bc7-5b44-90e7-e6a156c6c719 |
| Mar 2025 | -4.61 | Mar 2025 | 0.03 | 2a0effb0-3677-5c3c-b38c-0d6e8a6bc70e · 6b210761-6f75-5240-a9ac-74d44c82e4cb |
| Apr 2025 | -6.89 | Apr 2025 | 0.16 | feb54ce1-bbdb-5205-8904-743cca344fac · d43611ea-e07b-5b0f-a2a6-7e1c403c94ab |
| May 2025 | -2.15 | May 2025 | 0.10 | d3898a6e-a4e2-58c7-a5af-e52764b0c25d · d4e7330f-7318-5eaa-a232-a31b70d9d79e |
| Jun 2025 | 9.65 | Jun 2025 | 0.25 | 28a5f11a-859e-5720-a6a9-f31a2dd36f65 · 891152ca-eee9-5f21-bb87-1707aa81aed3 |
| Jul 2025 | 0.33 | Jul 2025 | 0.23 | f574428f-3677-5fc9-ac1a-b259937a1d6a · e257e5fb-0e78-5315-bf12-1bb3d55618b9 |
| Aug 2025 | -5.16 | Aug 2025 | 0.35 | 44ad9f87-0152-5d68-939b-b82ed5079372 · 0beb220d-a055-5642-9781-522a52b49c95 |
| Sep 2025 | -1.40 | Sep 2025 | 0.30 | b7a77d19-4cee-52b3-b921-ca03ba57a267 · 0495b378-b298-5f68-8c42-c96fc14ebcc9 |
| Dec 2025 | -3.48 | Dec 2025 | 0.30 | 942f04ff-a7dc-55d1-9706-4e21b8e51ca6 · 433155fe-3a97-596e-a4d8-9f8f4c7ddfd8 |
| Jan 2026 | 3.56 | Jan 2026 | 0.17 | 628ff31d-b541-5044-bf7f-6b39f341bf94 · 2d4a2394-721f-5b6d-b483-af908b264b6f |
| Feb 2026 | 7.45 | Feb 2026 | 0.27 | ed88a1a1-2309-584a-9318-0ce35abcd0fb · 6302b534-ec87-5eb6-8317-29050b80e141 |
| Mar 2026 | 41.66 | Mar 2026 | 0.87 | 846646cf-03c9-5d9b-a753-e278e8f1843f · 9d2b1298-f4b9-522d-9ff7-6604d7182e7b |
| Apr 2026 | 9.78 | Apr 2026 | 0.64 | 84866a8c-f581-59b4-b030-d83a83b16130 · 8689b8ee-c72a-58f0-96f7-9f23667e0edc |
| May 2026 | 1.81 | May 2026 | 0.47 | 7c07a139-8429-5869-8e34-0ccbc4f4e536 · dbec2644-c4cb-5d00-a4ea-f43a1d1b858e |
| Jun 2026 | -16.96 | Jun 2026 | -0.42 | dbf15fd9-7007-5937-8653-75c391136b55 · 970c451d-840b-57c1-ace9-7d7bd90db9f1 |
| Jul 2026 | -5.13 | Jul 2026 | 0.07 | ca12bb17-a97b-5ffb-a32f-849b7c0f5df4 · 48c5926a-3736-5488-9299-fbcb53711663 |
| Aug 2026 | 4.28 | Aug 2026 | 0.40 | 8968cd6e-9c59-5047-88be-0bd2398ab8a9 · a1e8ac94-ed3b-5a77-a682-3c549136fead |
| Sep 2026 | 15.98 | Sep 2026 | 0.65 | b37030f2-46b2-50db-b949-aa48a6f8670c · 9c4c381b-818d-5109-9100-d79470be116d |
Whole-system comparison
Co-movement across prices, oil and the Fed rate
Each cell is the correlation between two monthly series over the months both were published: seasonally adjusted monthly price changes for CPI items, monthly changes for oil and the Fed rate. A correlation describes co-movement in this sample. It does not measure how much of one price passes into another, and it cannot tell cause from common cause.
Coefficients need at least 36 matched months. ★ marks a Pearson 95% interval that excludes zero after allowing for month-to-month persistence; ⊂ marks a pair where one item is part of the other, so the two are not independent evidence.
Correlation matrix
Same-month co-movement
Pearson r on exact calendar-month matches; each cell shows its own sample size. Select a cell to read the pair in full below. Teal is positive, rust is negative; darker is stronger.
| X ↓ / Y → | All items | Food at home | Food away | Gasoline | Electricity | Utility gas | Core goods | Used cars | Shelter | Transport svcs | Airline fares | Medical svcs | WTI oil | Fed rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All items | ||||||||||||||
| Food at home | ||||||||||||||
| Food away | ||||||||||||||
| Gasoline | ||||||||||||||
| Electricity | ||||||||||||||
| Utility gas | ||||||||||||||
| Core goods | ||||||||||||||
| Used cars | ||||||||||||||
| Shelter | ||||||||||||||
| Transport svcs | ||||||||||||||
| Airline fares | ||||||||||||||
| Medical svcs | ||||||||||||||
| WTI oil | ||||||||||||||
| Fed rate |
WTI oil → Gasoline (all types)
monthly % change against % change on the month, SA, same month, from January 2021
- Pearson r
- .78
- Spearman ρ
- .70
- Matched months
- 68
- Independent months, about
- 63
- 95% interval for r
- .66 to .86
A strong positive same-month co-movement in this sample; the interval excludes zero. Co-movement is not pass-through, and a common cause such as demand or supply shocks can move both.
Inspect the 68 matched months and serving row IDs
| Month | WTI oil | Gasoline | Observation IDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 2021 | 10.60 | 7.40 | fbfcebde-6de1-5687-9bc1-cb4b45c2d741 · 2b406233-a791-5995-8347-b7db480b546d |
| Feb 2021 | 13.53 | 6.40 | 10c7f64b-31ed-53cd-b53b-a00510438b9e · 4d40c80b-2791-52e3-a4c2-cfb7ea351afa |
| Mar 2021 | 5.57 | 9.10 | fd20dbff-7b8f-5eb6-be28-e1ebfc66eec1 · 51519e00-5c6f-5922-aa1e-9d356a508593 |
| Apr 2021 | -0.99 | -1.40 | 5726a497-aca5-506c-84ce-7c1d02515d18 · dbcd35f1-50dd-524c-9e95-1994c0cc34c4 |
| May 2021 | 5.59 | -0.70 | d3f4a353-05b4-5e6e-a5e7-3a13d998f7fd · 34a075e2-1926-5c7c-98a8-1f71f8e9f0b7 |
| Jun 2021 | 9.53 | 2.50 | 017770b0-aa19-5d75-beef-2382c5ea6033 · e9661d41-77c8-5f07-a571-8c361e6a208a |
| Jul 2021 | 1.55 | 2.40 | 52dd0ea0-260f-5585-a2fd-8ec50de2dd84 · 300c2769-7a94-59c1-aa6b-a6f1dcf82933 |
| Aug 2021 | -6.56 | 2.80 | f57f3362-62e2-5b24-9bda-442255297d93 · a70e3cf1-ff32-5eeb-92f7-24b58d1fc2cc |
| Sep 2021 | 5.78 | 1.20 | 393f37f2-dd13-59d1-82dd-ccfd3bddc9e5 · 721b6566-ed3b-5f4b-a6e5-79eefed24ab3 |
| Oct 2021 | 13.72 | 6.10 | a1028473-1a82-5b4d-a4e2-32280486ca29 · 6bf1f2a0-5bc1-5f51-889e-ff80c58ffe3b |
| Nov 2021 | -2.86 | 6.10 | 909790d6-fdb8-56f2-af09-2f1ed1f8c6d8 · 77b32dfe-4a1f-5ebb-b411-168f50145966 |
| Dec 2021 | -9.39 | -0.50 | f8509a0f-8d0f-54d2-981a-5bc7be755353 · 6f4a148d-d277-54b7-8436-74e3e5f5904c |
| Jan 2022 | 16.05 | -0.80 | e66b2e9b-f5e5-5f38-a5d6-74e217592468 · e5e1b579-56b7-5012-8e33-00645d2abdc3 |
| Feb 2022 | 10.12 | 6.60 | 99dc30d8-35d5-505d-9a68-425fe5170d20 · 758c37cd-964c-5f97-836c-15d23958f3c1 |
| Mar 2022 | 18.40 | 18.30 | d623b67f-9bf8-51d6-90dc-648f74ef6ef5 · 660dc046-e6ee-59cd-b25b-95044cd2c165 |
| Apr 2022 | -6.20 | -6.10 | 2eb138e0-29e7-5086-a8d8-c15ad3b92cfa · 8a205d2f-832d-5ba6-ad36-463095467db0 |
| May 2022 | 7.64 | 4.10 | d7125444-c7d5-5fd2-b290-24e88452f4e8 · 5a56c40d-d7c2-5ec2-9154-2638f4782009 |
| Jun 2022 | 4.82 | 11.20 | 9a3eb056-9f19-5a51-94ad-538bd8916051 · f0bb6de2-962b-5670-93f7-b57c80b1414c |
| Jul 2022 | -11.51 | -7.70 | b3e512a2-fa73-50b0-84e7-fb3b07ab0c2c · bb23a74b-f241-57d3-91af-212f512fcdd9 |
| Aug 2022 | -7.83 | -10.60 | 993e7625-2119-58db-9257-db338afdeef3 · 6a0411ba-8e48-5d52-8be5-f869a882719a |
| Sep 2022 | -10.04 | -4.90 | 5fc039dc-1784-5c9f-bbb0-e6c13e8c955d · 2d262a19-863b-5bc4-8dc8-e2b49aa8053f |
| Oct 2022 | 3.91 | 4.00 | 4ba9a49c-0477-5d5f-a61c-206c8686d85d · 849ddab9-f3fc-529f-a83e-f8835763c59a |
| Nov 2022 | -3.64 | -2.00 | 6f47e9e4-14d9-5f09-9e89-97174e1a853b · 725e3016-a649-5c51-aa1e-e4b30583d299 |
| Dec 2022 | -9.40 | -9.40 | 4ab72036-49e3-5dfd-91cf-b254dd17eb13 · 5b981fb2-9596-58f0-80b7-6010ae902796 |
| Jan 2023 | 2.21 | 2.40 | ddafd8f1-c8fd-5e81-9adb-63964c823578 · d577b74a-700b-59e0-9994-0fb9f52eaf2f |
| Feb 2023 | -1.65 | 1.00 | 5938950b-ec7f-5e8e-9cdd-3230b4bc5794 · e6943f0d-f3c4-5a13-9e92-3befcd37018a |
| Mar 2023 | -4.63 | -4.60 | 6bbd6c21-c452-50c7-9d24-7f28cad2ef82 · 7fba21cb-c077-5428-bcec-4312284c0e6e |
| Apr 2023 | 8.42 | 3.00 | f2578bb9-dde0-520f-9a4e-852810d25857 · c00ffeea-7a0d-5622-87d3-f8a27e9eab33 |
| May 2023 | -9.90 | -5.60 | 238a05f1-555c-54b7-8b0f-11ed846a0877 · 2340542f-2ad4-5b0b-a7b7-ca8c26d6cb41 |
| Jun 2023 | -1.86 | 1.00 | fa4cfb0f-29a2-58b9-a0ad-7ad43e1c5991 · e6f8d2a1-81ef-58b7-8d57-a9dcf08ec205 |
| Jul 2023 | 8.29 | 0.20 | bfb12eb0-2180-5cad-854d-a4e889c42f58 · 4af8086f-206c-55ae-996f-9b04c918583a |
| Aug 2023 | 6.99 | 10.60 | 0ec42662-c311-5e7d-a9f6-f9677b8f838c · 758cef8e-497f-55ff-ae42-42c1a32df91a |
| Sep 2023 | 9.88 | 2.10 | c11d8bd7-dd24-5fe7-b880-438132a9ee25 · 5cd93121-350b-522f-9b26-113c40d425db |
| Oct 2023 | -4.23 | -5.00 | bb2ef324-e696-5251-91e8-0ac8a97a0309 · 183f712f-ca09-5b83-ba36-cd528a021ac0 |
| Nov 2023 | -9.29 | -6.00 | 0cb6bfd9-e2bc-521d-8026-8dfda36893e6 · d2b14592-729f-5bbc-8686-0928f58c42b5 |
| Dec 2023 | -7.45 | 0.20 | d60ad88d-5237-5287-ba87-04547207b5fe · a666db0f-92aa-5267-8d84-5d4bbb8048bc |
| Jan 2024 | 3.13 | -3.30 | df2eb720-c9b6-521e-a976-1eb090adf377 · 5add4906-8a85-55e7-aca9-e5bb4109bce1 |
| Feb 2024 | 4.18 | 3.80 | 41f9dc9a-5570-5f6d-b971-978f446cfb0b · be6acda6-c5ca-590c-9f7c-ed5fb72b7713 |
| Mar 2024 | 5.22 | 1.70 | a0b47d2e-4672-5185-a469-e7092352b21e · 1946438a-c736-519e-8b8c-4f267af443c1 |
| Apr 2024 | 5.01 | 2.80 | 59353564-6252-59bb-ae22-77e1fe5c1497 · a72f008f-3552-5689-b3cf-68e30d9f14d0 |
| May 2024 | -6.24 | -3.60 | 62624914-90d9-53c0-b2c0-5cd40eda4c14 · ce80d12e-250b-5afe-81f0-bb6483875425 |
| Jun 2024 | -0.32 | -3.80 | 5d06d2fc-9612-5086-bc30-fbd280e0c1c7 · 96ee948a-23b8-561d-9c52-52b6b3aceb75 |
| Jul 2024 | 2.55 | 0.00 | 31736ed6-e970-5cb2-83bc-807d08849277 · 832a2efa-d700-58a3-9b57-713f068e7025 |
| Aug 2024 | -6.26 | -0.60 | 8d42d2ef-3bd7-58dc-b871-a5be2c6bf4e8 · 66cda56e-d734-5201-8666-1bfe97553220 |
| Sep 2024 | -8.41 | -4.10 | e1dc0401-aa27-5c25-bd6c-2e540dea092c · 3a7ee3ee-8f6a-54ef-bb86-1cf72aea0c69 |
| Oct 2024 | 2.49 | -0.90 | d4e42498-e78c-575a-a4ed-63ecf1b2ab9a · e3da0d0e-2eeb-56c6-9673-8528d82575ba |
| Nov 2024 | -2.83 | 0.60 | 5d9abbe6-f974-5fac-a5b3-23b386682e8e · 616449af-ff22-5aca-8972-e3e7f285ff26 |
| Dec 2024 | 0.24 | 4.40 | 6234426b-6650-564f-b867-e9f08152e93a · d530d6f9-0cbb-5cc1-8cf4-8bdd4e6f61a4 |
| Jan 2025 | 8.02 | 1.80 | 44c1b4f7-7c15-5457-a230-75b304264e8e · 77334fea-b8af-5b6b-87cd-08c045ee2f93 |
| Feb 2025 | -5.56 | -1.00 | 317efaa7-ddcb-50de-9dbc-19bb2b904d73 · c4816527-92d5-56aa-a07d-6f91a6640894 |
| Mar 2025 | -4.61 | -6.30 | 2a0effb0-3677-5c3c-b38c-0d6e8a6bc70e · d6ffed5c-e354-59f3-ba3c-76e2b3d9456c |
| Apr 2025 | -6.89 | -0.10 | feb54ce1-bbdb-5205-8904-743cca344fac · 284c40ce-7234-5653-9583-c5d4526164d9 |
| May 2025 | -2.15 | -2.60 | d3898a6e-a4e2-58c7-a5af-e52764b0c25d · 4b2d4490-394e-5a8d-b67e-15d2bf0c3510 |
| Jun 2025 | 9.65 | 1.00 | 28a5f11a-859e-5720-a6a9-f31a2dd36f65 · c6d4e5b5-ac5f-5d25-aa3b-b2f9a853abea |
| Jul 2025 | 0.33 | -2.20 | f574428f-3677-5fc9-ac1a-b259937a1d6a · 144bca0c-a71b-578c-83c5-0489a1ea23d1 |
| Aug 2025 | -5.16 | 1.90 | 44ad9f87-0152-5d68-939b-b82ed5079372 · be5ba9c9-b97e-5963-8c7c-678389252354 |
| Sep 2025 | -1.40 | 4.10 | b7a77d19-4cee-52b3-b921-ca03ba57a267 · d059e2ab-7feb-550b-bc65-8f9193b11a60 |
| Nov 2025 | -1.37 | 3.00 | e60feda5-2734-5872-9d74-7e9a2c8f84e5 · b8f6b2a0-632b-5c0a-8114-18b2ae2f7212 |
| Dec 2025 | -3.48 | -0.50 | 942f04ff-a7dc-55d1-9706-4e21b8e51ca6 · b7f77a35-4c8a-59f7-abbe-87cfe104f898 |
| Jan 2026 | 3.56 | -3.20 | 628ff31d-b541-5044-bf7f-6b39f341bf94 · e6602ba5-2643-5720-97de-55eef1738054 |
| Feb 2026 | 7.45 | 0.80 | ed88a1a1-2309-584a-9318-0ce35abcd0fb · a737a28b-6129-5712-94f6-04f8c3986d35 |
| Mar 2026 | 41.66 | 21.20 | 846646cf-03c9-5d9b-a753-e278e8f1843f · a42afd4e-fcc5-5e1e-a664-d5a8b8501558 |
| Apr 2026 | 9.78 | 5.40 | 84866a8c-f581-59b4-b030-d83a83b16130 · bb92aa40-7a89-5d68-9508-7a5e5d6df982 |
| May 2026 | 1.81 | 7.00 | 7c07a139-8429-5869-8e34-0ccbc4f4e536 · eccf61c4-3e6f-51ab-90a2-a004a6e59123 |
| Jun 2026 | -16.96 | -9.70 | dbf15fd9-7007-5937-8653-75c391136b55 · ff8fb970-f644-5cfa-8f80-19f581bb3de8 |
| Jul 2026 | -5.13 | -2.90 | ca12bb17-a97b-5ffb-a32f-849b7c0f5df4 · 637b3c37-f496-5d8c-9168-e71117734c1a |
| Aug 2026 | 4.28 | 3.90 | 8968cd6e-9c59-5047-88be-0bd2398ab8a9 · cae93032-3a3d-5f40-bf0a-8c3abb33213e |
| Sep 2026 | 15.98 | 9.10 | b37030f2-46b2-50db-b949-aa48a6f8670c · d3bf746d-0d45-57ae-a89f-1834039565f2 |
Lead–lag: WTI oil and prices
Pearson r between WTI oil (monthly % change) in one month and each item's seasonally adjusted price change the stated number of months later. Lead 0 is the same month.
| Price change in | Same month | 1 month later | 2 months later | 3 months later | 6 months later | 12 months later |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All items | .61★n=67 | .31★n=66 | .06n=65 | −.10n=64 | .06n=61 | .13n=55 |
| Food at home | .08n=67 | .19n=66 | .10n=65 | .14n=64 | .09n=61 | .17n=55 |
| Food away | −.18n=67 | −.17n=66 | −.07n=65 | .10n=64 | .05n=61 | .37★n=55 |
| Gasoline | .78★n=68 | .35★n=67 | .05n=66 | −.26★n=65 | −.03n=62 | −.06n=56 |
| Electricity | .20n=67 | .00n=66 | .21n=65 | .08n=64 | .07n=61 | −.02n=55 |
| Utility gas | .05n=67 | −.03n=66 | .06n=65 | .33★n=64 | .02n=61 | −.05n=55 |
| New vehicles | −.02n=68 | .03n=67 | .08n=66 | .17n=65 | .26n=62 | .11n=56 |
| Used cars | .01n=68 | .07n=67 | .12n=66 | .27n=65 | −.01n=62 | −.15n=56 |
| Apparel | .17n=67 | .13n=66 | .11n=65 | −.12n=64 | −.07n=61 | .17n=55 |
| Rent | −.20n=67 | −.03n=66 | −.10n=65 | −.09n=64 | −.03n=61 | .24n=55 |
| Owners' equiv. rent | −.20n=67 | −.10n=66 | −.14n=65 | −.10n=64 | .01n=61 | .16n=55 |
| Shelter | −.08n=67 | .06n=66 | −.16n=65 | −.23n=64 | −.01n=61 | .18n=55 |
| Transport svcs | .18n=67 | .16n=66 | −.09n=65 | −.01n=64 | .03n=61 | .29★n=55 |
| Airline fares | .14n=67 | .24n=66 | .18n=65 | .03n=64 | .07n=61 | .12n=55 |
| Motor insurance | .13n=66 | −.04n=65 | −.25n=64 | −.14n=63 | −.11n=60 | .14n=54 |
| Medical svcs | −.05n=67 | −.03n=66 | .19n=65 | .12n=64 | .26n=61 | −.19n=55 |
Of the 96 cells in this grid, about 5 would clear a 95% interval by chance alone; 8 do. Reading across many leads and items is a search, so treat an isolated ★ with no neighbouring support as likely noise, and treat a run of flagged leads as a pattern worth testing with quantity data.
Outside parent–child pairs, the strongest same-month co-movement is gasoline (all types) with WTI oil (r .78 over 68 months, interval excludes zero). 14 of the 78 independent pairs have an interval that excludes zero; about 4 would by chance. Gasoline (all types) moves with WTI oil in the same month (r .78) and still 1 month later (r .35). Shelter shows no linear relation with WTI oil at any lead tested (largest |r| .23).
Methods and reproducible inputs
Pairs match exact calendar months; a month without both values is dropped, never filled (October 2025 was not published). Pearson r is computed on the values and Spearman ρ on their ranks. The 95% interval uses the Fisher transform with an effective sample size n × (1 − ρx·ρy) / (1 + ρx·ρy), where ρx and ρy are each series' lag-1 autocorrelations over consecutive matched months; it needs twelve consecutive links and is not shown otherwise. Coefficients are suppressed below 36 matched months.
Items are the finest BLS categories that are published every month for this set; a parent and its child (shelter and rent, core goods and used cars, transport services and airline fares) move together partly by construction, which the ⊂ marker flags. All items contains every item. Drivers use the same transforms as the relationship lab above. Nothing here is a pass-through coefficient: that needs quantities, weights and an identification strategy.
Refresh 4523f1d2-40c6-52a4-b857-e523536583f3 · us-inflation-eb32963698e74efd · USA/USD · monthly data.
The Fed's side · from the US rates snapshot
Fed policy stance relative to inflation
Prices respond to policy with long and variable lags. These figures come from the US rates, growth and inflation topic's own approved snapshot (us-rates-94b9517e620b8db2), so they can end in a different month from the CPI figures above.
Per cent
- Effective fed funds rate
- Core PCE inflation
- 10-year breakeven inflation
Lead–lag: federal funds rate and core inflation
Pearson r between a month's change in the effective funds rate and the change in 12-month core PCE inflation the stated number of months later, since 1990. A negative value at long leads is what tightening that works would look like; the Fed also raises rates because inflation is rising, which pushes short leads positive. ★ marks an interval that excludes zero after allowing for persistence.
| Months later | 0 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearson r | 0.12★ | −0.02 | −0.18★ | −0.06 | −0.02 |
| 95% interval | 0.02 to 0.22 | −0.13 to 0.08 | −0.28 to −0.08 | −0.17 to 0.05 | −0.12 to 0.09 |
| Matched months | 441 | 435 | 429 | 423 | 417 |
Five leads are tried, so one interval excluding zero could appear by chance. Timing is not causation: oil, supply shocks and fiscal policy move inflation too. The topic page has the full correlation matrix and the QE and QT evidence.
Predefined screens
Inflation risk screens
These are transparent thresholds, not a prediction or an automated trading signal. Each compares observations from the published snapshot.
Near-term price pressure
Latest three SA monthly CPI changes annualize to 4.6%, versus 3.7% over 12 months.
Serving rows: 48c5926a-3736-5488-9299-fbcb53711663, a1e8ac94-ed3b-5a77-a682-3c549136fead, 9c4c381b-818d-5109-9100-d79470be116d, 2ac02c77-3a58-5e4f-9719-276d22cc32f3Sticky services concentration
Core services, including shelter, account for 1.904 percentage points of 3.7% headline inflation.
Serving rows: 4ae8010c-7098-5ca7-b8da-3b46572b8e61, 2ac02c77-3a58-5e4f-9719-276d22cc32f3Oil cost shock
WTI oil averaged +52.1% from Sep 2025 to Sep 2026.
Serving rows: b37030f2-46b2-50db-b949-aa48a6f8670c, b7a77d19-4cee-52b3-b921-ca03ba57a267Labour demand cooling
JOLTS openings changed +2.3% over 12 months through Aug 2026.
Serving rows: b713dc9c-1ee2-51ff-a86e-e2fb6c78d246, f2588321-8873-52bc-8ceb-def4d0937a38A historical statistical baseline
One-month-ahead headline CPI
Empirical 80% error band: 3.37% to 4.07%. Rolling-origin mean absolute error: 0.23 percentage points across 35 historical forecasts.
Same-month historical benchmark: predicting next month's inflation equals this month's produced a mean absolute error of 0.23 pp on the same 35 test months. AR(1) error reduction versus persistence: +0.4%. A negative value means the simpler benchmark performed better.
This AR(1) baseline uses only past headline inflation from the latest snapshot; the attribution release selector does not change it. Its band is the 80th percentile of absolute errors in an expanding-window historical backtest, not a probability guarantee. This uses the snapshot's values, not a reconstruction of what was known at each historical release. It does not incorporate future oil, jobs or Fed decisions, structural breaks, publication revisions or causal effects.
Audit trail
Source and interpretation rules
Primary sources: BLS CPI, BLS JOLTS, BLS employment, EIA WTI and New York Fed EFFR. Source time series are pinned from FRED mirrors; CPI effects are the BLS publication values. See the topic charts and exports for exact observations and source URLs.