Instrument 10 · runs in your browser
The household chain
Today’s release is the reason this module has to be built carefully. The intuitive story is the wrong one this month.
Footage: Dmitry Marchenkov / Pexels
The lag rule is not a setting. The month oil rises is not the month groceries rise. A model that shows instant pass-through is teaching something false.
There is no control on this page that produces instant pass-through — asking for one returns the reason, not the number.
Ages 8–11
Prices for different things move in different directions in the same month.
Ages 12–14
One month versus one year: same index, two different stories. Which one matches your family’s experience?
Ages 15–18
Build the transmission chain, then mark each link with a lag estimate. Defend the estimates.
Ages Adults
The month oil rises is not the month groceries rise. A model that shows instant pass-through is teaching something false.
BLS Consumer Price Index, July 2026, USDL-26-1378, released 12 Aug 2026 — via Case Engine Module 07. Next release: 11 September 2026.