Macro indicators · April 2026 release
Consumer prices are up +2.9% year-over-year.
The two headline inflation reports — CPI on the consumer side, PPI on the producer side — in one place. Monthly data back to 2018. Updated when the BLS publishes.
CPI · Consumer Price Index
April 2026+2.9%
year-over-year
Month-over-month
+0.3%
Index value
329.5
What it measures: the cost of a fixed basket of goods and services households actually buy — groceries, rent, gas, healthcare, haircuts.
PPI · Producer Price Index
April 2026+2.7%
year-over-year
Month-over-month
+0.3%
Index value
158.3
What it measures: the prices producers receive at the factory gate or wholesale. Often shows up in CPI 2-6 months later.
The story since 2019
The producer line moves first. The consumer line moves longer.
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. CPI-U All Items (CUUR0000SA0) and PPI Final Demand (WPSFD4), both not seasonally adjusted. Released monthly with a ~2-week lag.
In plain English
Two prices, two stories.
Headlines say "inflation came in at X%." They usually mean the CPI YoY. But the PPI tells you what's coming next month at the checkout.
CPI · what you pay
Tracks retail prices for a basket of about 80,000 items a month — rent, gas at the pump, the cart of groceries, dentist visits.
Used to set: Social Security cost-of-living adjustments, federal tax brackets, TIPS bond payouts, and most union COLA clauses.
PPI · what stores pay
Tracks wholesale and factory-gate prices — what farmers sell wheat for, what oil refineries charge, what shippers bill for freight.
Why watch it: PPI shocks usually pass through to CPI in 2-6 months. A jump here is a leading indicator for your future receipts.
Peak
+9.1%
CPI YoY peaked in June 2022 — the highest since 1981.
A year ago
+2.2%
CPI was running here in April 2025.
Fed's target
+2.0%
The Federal Reserve aims to keep inflation around here over the long run.
How it shows up at home
A CPI number is a household number, dressed in a suit.
A grocery cart
A 3% CPI reading means a $200 weekly cart now costs about $206 — $312 more a year, just to stay even.
A monthly raise
If your raise is below CPI, your real take-home shrank — even though the number on your paycheck got bigger.
Your savings account
If your bank pays 0.4% and CPI is 3%, your dollars lose 2.6% of buying power each year just sitting there.
From the headline to your receipt
See what the +2.9% CPI actually looks like in your cart.
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