The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics says CPI tracks average price changes for a basket of goods and services; core CPI excludes food and energy to reduce volatility. Why it matters: headline CPI guides public debate, while core CPI helps central banks see underlying trends that drive rate decisions. Pro tip: watch the shelter component and services ex-energy to gauge sticky inflation. For deeper context on trimmed-mean vs. median CPI, the Cleveland Fed explains how alternative measures de-noise the signal.
