New York — US consumer prices rose 3.4% annually to close out 2023, capping a year of substantial progress on efforts to rein in decades-high inflation. Economists were expecting the annual overall inflation rate to tick higher, to 3.2% from the 3.1% headline reading the month before, according to FactSet consensus estimates. What this means for the Fed’s rate cut plansThursday’s report, at first glance, appears to be yet another example of the long and bumpy process to bring down inflation. Still, December’s report likely pushes back a Fed rate cut further into the year, economists said. The CPI shelter category rose 0.5% from November and was up 6.2% for the 12 months ended in December, according to Thursday’s report.

Source: CNN January 11, 2024 15:15 UTC