Why the Nowflation gauge (1.71%) differs from official CPI (4.2%)

The gap is -2.49pp. It is not an error — it is the method. The BLS measures shelter with a 12-14 month survey lag; Nowflation prices new leases and current mortgage costs today. Our gauge uses daily market prices; the CPI is a monthly survey published two weeks late. The gauge correlates 0.9271 with official CPI 2 months ahead — the gauge leads, the official number follows.

Component decomposition (2026-05)

ComponentOurs YoYBLS YoY
Shelter: Rent+0.8%+2.9%
Electricity+8.4%+5.9%
Utility Gas-5.6%+3.0%

Both numbers are true; they answer different questions. Every source is public, the methodology is versioned, and every forecast is graded after each print.

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