Despite 2023 seeing inflation pressures mostly cool, December saw prices resurge, with the Consumer Price Index rising 0.3% in December, according to the Labor Department.
The Federal Reserve is working to cool inflation, raising interest rates throughout most of last year, saying that it’s waiting for signs of cooler inflation before it begins cutting interest rates in the months ahead.
With the CPI rising 0.2% more than it did in November, cuts could be further away than Americans and politicians would like.
The overall CPI was up 3.4% over the last 12 months, compared to 3.1% in November, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Core inflation, which excludes the volatile costs of energy and food, rose 0.3%, matching last month’s pace.
In the year through December, data shows that core inflation is up 3.9%, which is better than the 4% seen in November.
Core inflation is often used as a measurement of inflation, being that the most volatile goods are not measured in it.
As for the markets that saw an increase, the energy index saw a 2% fall in November but rose by 0.4% in December. Gasoline prices jumped by 0.2% after November saw them drop by 6%.
Housing prices also started to tick upward, with overall shelter costs rising 0.5% in December, which is up from November’s 0.4% increase.