Price growth in the United States cooled in December as the economy continued to show signs of weakening. Inflation landed at 6.5% compared to the 12 months prior.
That figure was in line with analysts’ expectations, and a decrease from the 7.1% seen in November. On a month-to-month basis, inflation fell by 0.1% in December, in line with expectations.
The slowing rate of inflation is likely to signal to the Federal Reserve that its interest-rate hikes are working but, so far, Chair Jerome Powell has not indicated any near-term plan to significantly pull back from those increases until inflation gets closer to 2%.