US CPI Rate Goes UP, Inflation At Highest Annual Rate, Read More

US released its CPI report on Wednesday, 12th December 2024. The readings come at a time when the US Federal Reserve officials are mulling over what to do at their policy meeting next week.  Traders are saying there is a 99 per cent chance of a fed rate cut , according to the CME Group’s FedWatch when the meeting wraps up on December 18, 2024.

US Announces CPI: Five Key Takeaways 

• Both the headline CPI and the core, which strips out food and energy prices, rose 0.3 per cent from October, matching economists’ forecasts. The year-on-year increases also slotted in as projected, with CPI up 2.7 per cent and the core CPI 3.3 per cent higher.
   
• The report suggested that disinflation has essentially stalled in recent months. Headline CPI notched the first back-to-back annual acceleration since March, while the core has been stuck at 3.3 per cent -- well above a figure consistent with the Fed’s 2 per cent target for a separate price gauge, the PCE – for three months now.
   
• Shelter costs as usual made up the main portion of the rise in CPI, at almost 40 per cent, although they did slow from the previous month. The closely watched owners’ equivalent rent component rose 0.23% on the month, which marked the smallest rise since the start of 2021.
   
• Food and used vehicle prices were among the components pushing up the CPI in November, along with medical care. Few major components saw a decline, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
   
• Stock futures gained and Treasuries saw a modest rally as the release bolstered expectations for the Federal Reserve to follow through on indications it would cut interest rates by 25 basis points next week. Contracts on the S&P 500 were up 0.5% as of 9:09 a.m. in New York, and two-year Treasury yields were down about 4 basis points, at 4.11 per cent.

(Bloomberg Inputs)

US Announced CPI: Inflation Numbers

US inflation rose to an annual rate of 2.7 per cent in November, up from 2.6 per cent in October, 2024 according to Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released on Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, USA. The monthly increase was 0.3 per cent, marking the highest annual inflation rate since July.