US inflation slowed again, but less than expected

The U.S. consumer price index rose 6.4% year-on-year in January, a slower-than-expected rate hike that could prompt the Fed’s tighter policy rate decision.

It is reported Financial Times.

According to a Reuters consensus forecast, economists had expected the consumer price index to slow to 6.2% from 6.5% recorded in december. Inflation has been gradually slowing down in the US in recent months, but such a January indicator symbolizes that the improvement in the situation with price growth in the country has almost stopped.

Excluding energy and food prices, the core CPI rose 5.6% year-on-year in January, which was also slightly lower than 5.7% in the previous month. This is comparable to the expectations of economists regarding the growth of the indicator by 5.5% in annual terms.

The market has been keeping a close eye on US inflation this month as last month’s employment report raised expectations that the Fed may need to tighten monetary policy more aggressively.

Against this background decreased so are oil prices, as energy traders anticipate a potential weakening of demand in the event of more aggressive Fed policy tightening.

We remind you:

The US Federal Reserve continued the cycle increase rates, but slowed down again – after months of increases by 0.5-0.75 percentage points in January, the rate increased by 0.25 percentage points.