Inflation eased in January, but not as much as expected
< < Go Back
The path to bringing inflation down has not been steady. On Tuesday, another bump got in the way.
Fresh data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that prices rose 3.1 percent in January compared with the year before. 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.
Get a curated selection of 10 of our best stories in your inbox every weekend.
But the report came in hotter than analysts expected, sending stocks into a downward spiral and dashing hopes that the annual inflation figure would dip below 3 percent for the first time since early 2021. 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.
“There are still a lot of inflation risks out there…
More From The Washington Post (subscription required):
Rss Feed