Although the CPI slowed by two-tenths compared to the previous figure, the underlying index, which excludes food and energy prices from its calculation due to their greater volatility, closed the last month of 2024 with an increase of 3.2%, one-tenth less.

The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.9% year-on-year in December, up two-tenths 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 last month of 2024 with an increase of 3.2%, one tenth less. Food prices rose 2.5% year-on-year, while energy was 0.5% cheaper than twelve months earlier.

In monthly terms, the overall rate of the index rose by 0.4% in December, one-tenth more, while the underlying rate rose by 0.2%, one-tenth less than in the previous four months.

Markets are keeping an eye on the December 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 December 18 to lower interest rates for the third time since March 2020 to the target range of between 4.25% and 4.50%.

The Fed stressed in its statement that the risks to improving employment and prices were "roughly balanced" and that it remained "vigilant" against possible threats from both fronts.