Download seasonally adjusted Consumer Price Index (CPI) historical data from the U.S. Department of Labor: Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data starts from 1947 to present and is updated monthly. The downloaded series is the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. It includes all items: Apparel, Education and Communication, Energy, Food and Beverage, Housing, Medical Care, Other Goods and Services, Recreation, Transportation.
The Consumer Price Index or (CPI) is the average price paid by consumers for a basket of goods and services. For each period, the CPI measures the price change of a basket of goods and services sold within the same area. The CPI can be used as an economic indicator, a deflator of other economic time-series or as a means of adjusting dollar values.
Percent change in the CPI is a measure of inflation; an increase in the CPI value over a period of time may result in an increase in the inflation rate, while a decrease in the CPI value may result in a decrease in the inflation rate.
NB: The downloader creates the following symbol: ^CONSUMER_PRICE_INDEX.
This item should be run once per month, just after the CPI data is released.
You can download CPI for specific items by locating the series name in the (research.stlouisfed.org) website and updating this item URL. As an example, the current CPI series name is 'CPIAUCSL' and the series name for the 'Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Education and Communication' is 'CPIEDUSL'.
