US consumer inflation slightly eases to 6.4% in January

ISTANBUL

Annual US consumer inflation came in at 6.4% in January, easing from 6.5% in December, according to figures released Tuesday.

The consumer price index (CPI), which measures changes in the prices of goods and services from a consumer’s perspective, however, was higher than estimates of a 6.2% increase.

The figure was the smallest 12-month increase since October 2021, while it marked a sharp decline from the 9.1% yearly gain in June, the largest since November 1981.

CPI rose 0.5% from the previous month in line with the market expectation. The figure for December was revised to a 0.1% gain from a decline of the same magnitude.

“The food index increased 0.5 percent over the month with the food at home index rising 0.4 percent. The energy index increased 2.0 percent over the month as all major energy component indexes rose over the month,” the Labor Department said in a statement.

Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, gained 0.4% in January from the previous month, also came in line with the market estimate. December’s reading was revised up to a 0.4% gain from an increase of 0.3%.

Core CPI rose 5.6% in January, exceeding the market estimate of 5.5% after it rose 5.7% in December year-on-year.

“The energy index increased 8.7 percent for the 12 months ending January, and the food index increased 10.1 percent over the last year,” said the Labor Department.

President Joe Biden said annual consumer inflation has fallen for seven straight months, while gasoline prices are down around $1.60 from their peak last year.

The price of gasoline stood at $3.414 per gallon (3.785 liters) Tuesday, down only 2.1% from the same day a year ago, according to data from the American Automobile Association (AAA).

But the current price is a massive 31.9% decline from the peak national average of $5.016 last June.

Biden said despite high inflation, unemployment remains at its lowest since 1969, while job growth “remains resilient.”

“There is still more work to do as we make this transition to more steady, stable growth, and there could be setbacks along the way,” he said in a statement from the White House.

• consumer inflation
• consumer price index
• US Labor Department