What is Consumer Price Index? 

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the most watched economic indicator. It is calculated then released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which is part of the Department of Labor.

What does Consumer Price Index measure?

It measures the change in price of goods and services purchased by the consumers excluding investment items such as stocks, bonds, real estates and life insurances. In short, Consumer Price Index measures the cost of living.

Why do we (traders) care

Consumer Price Index accounts for the majority of overall inflation. Inflation is important to currency evaluation. If the stats are good, they are considered as good for Australian Dollar which is likely to strengthen as a result and weakens when the stats are less than expected. Below is the Consumer Price Index for Australia. The stats are released quarterly. The first one was on the 29th of January and there’s 3 more left for 2019. Below is the annual schedule for Australia Consumer Price Index (CPI)