Consumer inflation in the United States edged down for a second straight month in November, government data showed Tuesday, in encouraging news for policymakers seeking to get prices under control.
The consumer price index (CPI), a closely eyed gauge of inflation, rose 3.1 percent from a year ago, said the Department of Labor, down from a 3.2 percent rate in October.
The slowdown comes on the back of falling gas prices, with the gasoline index dropping 6.0 percent.
But the inflation figure was slightly hotter than expected, and CPI rose 0.1 percent between October and November.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI increase was steady at 4.0 percent from a year ago.
Tuesday’s numbers were released on the same day the Federal Reserve opens its final policy meeting of the year.
Central bank officials have rapidly lifted the benchmark lending rate since last year to tame stubborn inflation, and the overall CPI figure has come down sharply from its 9.1 percent peak in June 2022.
Source: Zawya
