U.S. inflation data for December indicates price pressures are continuing to ease, Richmond Federal Reserve President Thomas Barkin said on Wednesday after a government report showed that an important underlying measure of price increases had slowed last month.

Consumer inflation increased 2.9% in 2024, which is above the Federal Reserve's goal of 2%, but wages overall more than kept up with higher prices.

The Federal Reserve is expected to maintain interest rates at 425-450 basis points on January 29, supporting a continued stock market rally. Read more here.

The consumer price index ... complicating the Federal Reserve’s efforts to manage the situation. Sticky inflation refers to price increases for certain goods and services, such as insurance ...

U.S. inflation likely worsened last month on the back of higher prices for gas, eggs, and used cars, a trend that could make it less likely that the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate much this year.

Gas prices rose sharply, but investors homed in on a small decline in the core CPI.

The consumer price index (CPI) accelerated to 2.9 percent last month from a year ago, up from 2.7 percent in November, the Labor Department said in a statement.

Recently, progress on inflation appeared to be stuck or, at worst, reversing: A closely watched gauge of underlying price hikes — an index that excludes highly volatile categories — hadn’t budged for months.

U.S. inflation ticked higher in December, data indicated Wednesday, but core price price pressures eased, potentially sparking a relief rally in stocks tied to renewed bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts.

STORY: U.S. inflation data out Wednesday showed consumer prices ticked up more than expected in December amid higher gas prices. The Labor Department's consumer price index rose ... nearly even odds that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates twice ...

While the overall consumer price index rose, the core measure that omits food and energy costs was below estimates.

US consumer inflation ... in December was the energy index, which jumped by 2.6 percent, accounting for "over" 40 percent of the monthly increase, according to the Labor Department. In some good news for the Federal Reserve, annual inflation excluding ...