Markets are keeping an eye on November's data as it could provide clues about the normalisation of monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve (Fed).

The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7% year-on-year in November, up one-tenth of a point from the previous year, the Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday.

However, the underlying index, which excludes food and energy prices from its calculation due to their greater volatility, closed the eleventh month of 2024 with an increase of 3.3%, unchanged.

Food prices rose 2.4% year-on-year, while energy prices were 3.2% cheaper than twelve months earlier.

On a monthly basis, the overall index rate rose by 0.3% in November, one-tenth more than in July, August, September or October, while the underlying rate rose by another 0.3%, the same amount as in the three previous months.

Markets are keeping an eye on November's data as it could provide clues as to whether the US Federal Reserve (Fed) will normalise monetary policy, although its preferred variable for monitoring the cost of living is the personal consumption expenditure (PCE) price index.

MONETARY POLICY

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) of the Fed decided on November 7 to lower interest rates for the second time since March 2020 to the target range of between 4.50% and 4.75%.

The Fed stressed in its statement that the risks to optimizing employment and prices were "roughly balanced" and that, in view of future meetings, it would be attentive to incoming data, the evolution of the macroeconomic environment and the balance of risks.