UK CPI: the ONS inflation release at 07:00 and sterling futures
UK consumer price inflation is published monthly by the Office for National Statistics at 07:00 London time. The CPI is the measure behind the Bank of England's 2% target, and services inflation is watched closely by the Monetary Policy Committee. The release lands in the US overnight session, so British pound futures (6B) react on a thin book.
Senzoukria · Economic events · Updated September 2026
At a glance
- Published by
- Office for National Statistics (ONS)
- Frequency
- Monthly
- Usual time
- 07:00 London time (2:00 a.m. ET when clocks are aligned)
- Figures watched
- CPI y/y, core CPI, services CPI; CPIH is ONS's lead measure
- Contracts in scope
- 6B (CME); short sterling and gilt futures (ICE)
What the release contains
The ONS publishes several consumer price measures in the same release. CPIH, which includes owner occupiers' housing costs, is its lead measure, but the Bank of England's inflation target is set in terms of the CPI, so the CPI is the figure markets focus on. Core CPI excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco. Services CPI is quoted separately and is closely followed by the MPC as a measure of domestic inflation pressure.
The annual rate is the headline in the UK, rather than the monthly change that dominates the US release.
What the market compares
- Headline CPI y/y against consensus.
- Services CPI against consensus and against the Bank of England's own projection in its latest Monetary Policy Report.
- Core CPI for the underlying trend.
- Timing relative to the next MPC meeting: a print just before a decision carries more weight.
Why futures react
UK inflation relative to the target shapes expectations for Bank Rate. A surprise moves UK rate futures and sterling: 6B, priced in US dollars per pound, reflects the change in the expected gap between Bank of England and Federal Reserve policy. The size of the reaction depends on how the services figure compares with the Bank's projection.
Order flow at 2:00 a.m. Eastern
At 07:00 in London, it is 2:00 a.m. Eastern and 1:00 a.m. Chicago when clocks are aligned. 6B on CME Globex is thinly traded at that hour, well before London's own cash session opens at 08:00. The release can produce a sweep of several levels on little volume, which the footprint shows as a bar with a wide range and few trades.
The London open an hour later brings more participants, and the reaction is often tested then. A level set at 07:00 on a thin book and held through the London open carries more information than the initial spike.
In Senzoukria
UK CPI rows appear in the News calendar under GB, which is off by default; enable it in the Countries filter. For rows whose name includes CPI, the Quant mode card files them in the Inflation family and lists 6B and GC. The event detail converts 07:00 London into Chicago and UTC.
The top strip's London session clock opens at 08:00 local time and shows how long before the cash session the release falls. On the heatmap, a 5-second or 10-second span around the print shows the thin 6B book at its real scale.
Related pages
- Bank of England decision
- Heatmap overview
- Effort versus result
- Thin book
- Economic calendar in Senzoukria
In the same section
- UMich sentiment
- Treasury quarterly refunding
- US core CPI
- Beige Book
- US CPI
- SNB policy assessment
- US debt ceiling
- Flash PMIs
Sources
- ONS: Consumer price inflation, UK (release page) (2026-09-25)
This page in other languages
Frequently asked questions
- What time is UK CPI released?
- At 07:00 London time on the date set in the ONS release calendar. That is 2:00 a.m. Eastern when UK and US clocks are aligned, and 3:00 a.m. Eastern during the weeks when their daylight-saving dates differ.
- Why does services inflation matter so much in the UK?
- Services prices reflect domestic costs, especially wages, and tend to be persistent. The Bank of England watches them as a measure of underlying inflation pressure that its policy rate can influence.