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CPI release dates 2026 and 2027

The BLS releases the CPI inflation report once a month at 8:30 a.m. ET, an hour before stocks open. Here is every date for 2026 and 2027 we've checked on the BLS schedule.

Beginner guide · 6-minute read · Updated 2026-11-01

CPI release dates 2026

The Consumer Price Index, or CPI, comes out at 8:30 a.m. ET on these days in 2026:

Source: bls.gov.

As of November 2026, two releases are left this year: Tuesday, November 10 and Thursday, December 10.

Each release covers the month before. The January 13 report was December 2025's prices. The December 10 report will be November's.

CPI release dates 2027

The 2027 dates on the BLS schedule, all at 8:30 a.m. ET:

Source: bls.gov.

That list runs through October 14, 2027, which covers September's prices. The last two 2027 releases will be added here once we've confirmed them on the BLS page. We don't publish guessed dates.

The 2026 date that moved

The February 2026 release was supposed to come out on Wednesday, February 11. A lapse in government funding pushed it to Friday, February 13. BLS posted the change on its revised-dates page.

That's the lesson: CPI dates are set a year ahead, but they can move. If a trade depends on one date, check the BLS schedule the week before.

What CPI is, in one minute

CPI measures how much the prices of everyday things changed: food, rent, gas, clothes, doctor visits and more. It's the main US inflation report.

Two numbers get the attention:

• Headline CPI: everything.
• Core CPI: everything except food and energy, because those jump around a lot.

Each comes as a change from last month and a change from a year ago. Markets compare them to what forecasters expected. The surprise is what moves prices, not the number itself.

Want the full explanation? See CPI report explained.

Why CPI day moves options prices

Inflation tells the Fed what to do next. A hot number can mean higher interest rates for longer. A cool one can mean the opposite. So CPI can move stocks, bonds and the dollar all at once.

The timing makes it sharper:

1. It comes out before the open. At 8:30 a.m. ET, stocks aren't trading yet, but futures are. By 9:30 a.m., a stock can open well away from the night before. That's a gap, and you can't trade during it.
2. Option prices lean in before it. Implied volatility (the size of move the market is pricing in) often rises in the days before CPI, so option sellers collect a bit more.
3. Then the air comes out. Once the number is known, implied volatility often drops. That's IV crush. It helps a seller if the stock stays put, and doesn't help much if the stock gaps through the strike.

None of this says which way the market goes. It only tells you when the big moves tend to happen.

A worked example (hypothetical)

Here's a made-up case, an illustration, not a trade idea.

The afternoon before a CPI release, you sell one put on a made-up company, Meridian Stores, trading at $80. The strike is $75, a month out. You collect $1.20 a share, or $120.

At 8:30 the next morning, CPI comes in hotter than expected. Meridian opens at $73, already below your strike. You don't want to own it, so you buy the put back at $3.50.

The math at $3.50: closing costs $350. You collected $120. That's −$230.

There was no moment to react. The move happened while the stock market was shut. The only decision point was the afternoon before, when you chose to hold a put through a CPI morning.

How to plan around CPI

• Know if CPI is inside your trade. Count from today to your expiration. Our economic calendar 2027 has every CPI date next to the Fed meetings and expirations.
• Watch for stacked weeks. On September 14, 2027, CPI lands on day one of a Fed meeting, with the decision the next day. See FOMC meeting dates 2027.
• Decide before 8:30. Close, keep or skip the trade the day before. After the number, the price has already moved.
• Count down. The next market events countdown shows the days until the next CPI.

The other big monthly reports are the jobs report and PCE.

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