Prices increased 3.1% year-on-year in January, compared to 3.4% in December. This disappointed analysts, who hoped to see inflation fall below 3% for the first time since March 2021.
Inflation is one of the main themes in the race for the White House, because the surge in prices has sharply reduced the purchasing power of households. These inflation figures should also convince the American central bank (Fed) to be patient before beginning its monetary easing. The Fed favors another measure of inflation, the PCE index, which it wants to bring down to 2%.