02/13/2024

Inflation Eased in January at 3.1 Percent

The Fed is contemplating when to cut interest rates

The path to getting inflation down has not been steady. On Tuesday, another bump got in the way.

Fresh data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed prices rose 3.1 percent in January compared with January 2023. That's a slower increase than the 3.4 percent annual rate notched in December, and leagues below the post-COVID peak of 9.1 percent.

But the report came in hotter than analysts expected, narrowly dashing hopes that the annual inflation figure would dip below 3 percent for the first time since early 2021. And as the Federal Reserve fights to wrestle inflation all the way down to a more normal 2 percent, central bankers know success is still just out of reach, potentially slowing the Fed's march toward the first interest rate cut in years.

Please select this link to read the complete article from The Washington Post.