Convert a release time to your time zone

Convert the API release time with Python

Start with the economic release's at field. It contains the release instant as a UTC timestamp ending in Z. Keep that timestamp as the input for each place where you want to display the release, including places whose local date differs from the UTC date.

Get a free API key to read economic release dates. Narwhal API uses https://api.narwhalapi.com as its base URL. Keep the key in the NARWHAL_API_KEY environment variable and send it as Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY. REST and MCP share the same key, so the timestamp conversion starts from the same at field.

1. Read the UTC timestamp Use at for the time conversion. For the US consumer price release on 10 November 2026, the timestamp is 2026-11-10T13:30:00Z; the Python example represents that same UTC time with +00:00.
2. Choose the destination zone Use the IANA name of the reader's place, such as Asia/Jakarta or America/New_York. A named zone lets the conversion use the daylight saving rule for the release date, while a fixed offset needs to match that date.
3. Convert the timestamp Use Python's ZoneInfo with the destination name. The script converts the 10 November 2026 release into New York, London, Jakarta, Tokyo and Sydney time, and prints the local date, time and zone abbreviation for each place.
   Python, one release time in five time zones

   from datetime import datetime
   from zoneinfo import ZoneInfo
   
   release = datetime.fromisoformat("2026-11-10T13:30:00+00:00")   # the "at" field is always UTC
   for zone in ["America/New_York", "Europe/London", "Asia/Jakarta", "Asia/Tokyo", "Australia/Sydney"]:
       print(f"{zone:18}", release.astimezone(ZoneInfo(zone)).strftime("%a %d %b %Y %H:%M %Z"))

4. Read the local date with the time Keep the date attached when you use the result in a calendar or display. For this 10 November 2026 release, Sydney's result falls on 11 November 2026, while the other places in the script remain on 10 November 2026.

Convert to Jakarta time in a sheet

Put the UTC timestamp text from at in cell A2. In Google Sheets or Excel, use the formula below and format the result as date time. Jakarta uses UTC+7 without daylight saving, so the same fixed offset applies to this conversion.

=DATEVALUE(LEFT(A2,10))+TIMEVALUE(MID(A2,12,8))+7/24

The formula takes the date from the start of the timestamp and the time from the part after it, then adds Jakarta's offset as a fraction of a day. With 2026-11-10T13:30:00Z in A2, the result is 10 November 2026 at 20:30. Display both parts of the result so the sheet gives you the local release date as well as its time.

For a place with daylight saving, use the Python conversion or add the offset that applies on the release date. The Jakarta formula contains Jakarta's offset; use the destination's applicable offset when adapting a sheet for another place.

For the 10 November 2026 example, the date part of A2 is 2026-11-10 and the time part is 13:30:00. The formula adds 7/24 to that date and time to give the Jakarta result.

Which conversion option fits your use?

Choose the destination according to who will read the time. For your own schedule, use your place's IANA name. When showing the publisher's local time alongside it, use the publisher's timezone value for that separate display.

Why does the release fall on the next day in Sydney?

The 10 November 2026 release falls on 11 November 2026 in Sydney because the UTC+11 offset carries it past midnight. At 13:30 UTC on Tuesday 10 November 2026, Sydney is at 00:30 AEDT on Wednesday 11 November 2026. Both dates refer to the same release instant.

Does daylight saving change the release time?

Daylight saving can shift the UTC release time by an hour because the release is set in the publisher's local time. The 10 November 2026 US CPI release is at 13:30 UTC, or 08:30 EST in New York. During US daylight saving time, that local release time would be 12:30 UTC.

Read at again after a clock change. Convert that timestamp with the destination's IANA name, so the publisher's UTC release time and the reader's local time both follow the date of the release.

What does the timezone field give me?

The timezone field gives you the publisher's IANA time zone, which is America/New_York for the US. Use it when you want to show the publisher's local release time next to your own. For the 10 November 2026 release, that means showing 08:30 New York time alongside 20:30 Jakarta time.

Read at as UTC even when the accompanying timezone names New York. The fields have separate uses: at supplies the instant to convert, while timezone supplies the publisher’s zone for a local-time display.

Worked example: 10 November 2026 CPI in Jakarta

Take the US consumer price release timestamp 2026-11-10T13:30:00Z. Read the UTC date and time, then add Jakarta's seven-hour offset. The addition stays within 10 November 2026, so the local release date is the same as the UTC date.

For comparison, the same 10 November 2026 timestamp converts to 08:30 EST in New York, 13:30 GMT in London and 22:30 JST in Tokyo. Each is on Tuesday 10 November 2026. Sydney is already at 00:30 AEDT on Wednesday 11 November 2026. The Jakarta result uses WIB and remains on Tuesday, so its calendar entry uses 10 November 2026 at 20:30.