FRED CPILFESL — Daily CSV Download (Core CPI Inflation)
The US CPI inflation dataset provides the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) and the derived year-over-year inflation rate — the foundational series for inflation-adjusting any financial asset. Published monthly by the Bureau of Labor Statistics since 1914, this is the most widely referenced inflation measure in economic analysis, Fed communications, and financial contracts.
Dataset: US CPI Inflation Rate · Updated —
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Source: FRED series CPIAUCSL · Bureau of Labor Statistics
Macro Takeaway
CPI inflation is the variable that connects monetary policy to every financial asset. When inflation runs above the Fed’s 2% target, it forces the central bank into a tightening posture that mechanically reprices bonds (the 10-year yield rises), compresses equity multiples, and strengthens the dollar. Conversely, disinflation historically relaxes financial conditions across the board. The transmission is not instantaneous — monetary policy operates with “long and variable lags” in Milton Friedman’s formulation — but CPI is the variable the Fed is ultimately targeting, making it the anchor of the macro chain.
The distinction between headline CPI and core CPI (excluding food and energy) matters operationally: the Fed tends to “look through” headline volatility driven by oil prices and focus on core as the better signal of underlying inflation pressure. However, headline CPI is what determines real returns for investors and real wages for workers — it is the economically relevant measure for purchasing power calculations. The real interest rate dataset uses this headline CPI series as its inflation input.
Dataset Overview
| Indicator | Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) |
|---|---|
| Geography | United States |
| Frequency | Monthly |
| Period | 1914–2026 |
| Variables | Date, CPI index level, CPI year-over-year change (%) |
| Format | CSV, Excel (XLSX) |
| Sources | Bureau of Labor Statistics — CPI-U (FRED series CPIAUCSL) |
| Last updated | — |
Dataset Variables
The CSV and Excel files contain the following columns. Each row represents one month.
| Column | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|
date | Date (YYYY-MM-DD) | First day of the observation month |
cpi_index | Float | CPI-U index level (1982–84 = 100) |
cpi_yoy | Float | Year-over-year percentage change in CPI |
Column names match the CSV headers exactly.
Download the Complete Dataset
The full dataset spans over a century of US consumer price data — from World War I through the post-COVID inflation episode.
FRED Direct CSV Access
The CPI index is available from FRED under series code CPIAUCSL:
https://fred.stlouisfed.org/graph/fredgraph.csv?id=CPIAUCSL
The raw FRED series provides only the index level. The Eco3min dataset adds the pre-calculated year-over-year inflation rate, saving the additional step of computing percentage changes — a common source of errors when researchers handle seasonal adjustments and base effects.
Direct CSV Access — Eco3min Structured Dataset
https://eco3min.fr/dataset/us-cpi-inflation.csv
This URL returns the complete dataset in CSV format.
Using the Dataset in Python
import pandas as pd
url = "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/us-cpi-inflation.csv"
df = pd.read_csv(url, parse_dates=["date"])
# Latest inflation reading
latest = df.dropna().iloc[-1]
print(f"Latest CPI YoY: {latest['cpi_yoy']:.1f}%")
print(f"Date: {latest['date'].strftime('%B %Y')}")
Using the Dataset in R
library(readr) url <- "https://eco3min.fr/dataset/us-cpi-inflation.csv" df <- read_csv(url) head(df) summary(df$cpi_yoy)
Both examples load the dataset directly from the URL — no download or API key required.
Methodology
The CPI-U (Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers) is compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics from monthly price surveys covering approximately 80,000 items across 75 urban areas. The index measures the average change in prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. It covers roughly 93% of the US population.
The index is seasonally adjusted (the “S” in CPIAUCSL stands for “Seasonally Adjusted”) and uses a reference base period of 1982–1984 = 100. The basket weights are updated biennially based on the Consumer Expenditure Survey. As of 2024, housing (shelter) accounts for approximately 36% of the index weight, making it the single largest component.
The year-over-year inflation rate in this dataset is calculated as: CPI_YoY = (CPI_t / CPI_{t-12} − 1) × 100, where t is the current month and t-12 is the same month one year prior. This methodology eliminates seasonal effects and provides a clean annualized inflation rate.
This dataset is updated monthly (15th of each month, 08:00 UTC) following the BLS CPI release, which typically occurs around the 10th–14th of the month for the prior month’s data.
Historical Regimes
1914–1945 — Volatile deflation-inflation cycles. The early CPI history is marked by extreme swings: World War I inflation exceeding 20%, severe deflation during the Great Depression (−10% in 1932), and wartime inflation during WWII. This era predates the Fed’s modern inflation-targeting framework and illustrates the inherent instability of prices absent an explicit monetary anchor.
1946–1965 — Post-war stability. Inflation averaged 2-3% as the Bretton Woods system provided a nominal anchor through dollar-gold convertibility. This period is sometimes cited as the “golden age” of price stability, though it was underpinned by structural conditions (demographics, productivity growth, fixed exchange rates) that no longer exist.
1966–1982 — The Great Inflation. CPI inflation accelerated from 3% to a peak of 14.8% in March 1980, driven by fiscal expansion (Vietnam War, Great Society), two oil shocks, and a Federal Reserve that consistently underestimated inflation persistence. The Volcker tightening (Fed Funds above 20%) ultimately broke the cycle at the cost of two recessions. This episode remains the reference case for how entrenched inflation expectations can become self-reinforcing.
1983–2020 — The Great Moderation. Inflation averaged roughly 2.5% over nearly four decades, the longest period of sustained low inflation in US history. The decline was driven by Fed credibility (anchored expectations), globalization (cheap imports), and technology-driven productivity gains. By 2020, the consensus concern had shifted to structurally too-low inflation, with the Fed adopting its Average Inflation Targeting framework.
2021–present — Post-pandemic inflation shock. CPI surged to 9.1% in June 2022 (BLS data), the highest since 1981, driven by pandemic-era fiscal stimulus ($5+ trillion), supply chain disruptions, and energy price spikes. The subsequent disinflation path has been uneven — core services inflation (particularly shelter) has proven more persistent than goods inflation. Whether inflation durably returns to 2% or settles at a structurally higher level remains the central macro question.
Related Macroeconomic Datasets
- Real 10-Year Treasury Yield — Uses this CPI series as the inflation input
- US 10-Year Treasury Yield — Nominal yield that CPI erodes
- S&P 500 Historical Returns — Real returns use this CPI deflator
- Yield Curve Spread (10Y–2Y) — Inflation expectations drive the curve
Related Research
Macroeconomic Dataset Hub
This dataset is part of the Eco3min macro-financial data repository.
Explore the Eco3min Dataset Hub
Sources
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — FRED series CPIAUCSL