In the USA, inflation rose again before the turn of the year. Despite the unexpectedly strong increase, interest rates in the USA are expected to fall this year.
Inflation in the USA increased before the turn of the year. Consumer prices rose by 3.4 percent in December compared to the same month last year, after plus 3.1 percent in November, the Labor Department announced today in Washington.
Economists surveyed by the Reuters news agency had only expected a figure of 3.2 percent. From November to December, prices rose by 0.3 percent. Analysts had expected just 0.2 percent.
Interest rates currently over five percent
At the same time, the core inflation rate fell to 3.9 percent in December from 4.0 percent in the previous month. The core rate is given particular attention by the US Federal Reserve Bank. According to experts, it reflects the general price trend better than the overall rate because components that are prone to fluctuations such as energy and food are excluded.
The US Federal Reserve Bank, which is supposed to promote stable prices and full employment, wants to sustainably push the annual inflation rate towards its target value of 2.0 percent. It recently left the key interest rates in the range of 5.25 to 5.50 percent for three meetings in a row, after previously sharply tightening monetary policy.
However, at the last Fed meeting in mid-December, almost all monetary authorities had already spoken out in favor of lower interest rates until the end of 2024. The financial markets are expected to remain silent when it comes to the interest rate decision at the end of the month, but could head towards a reduction in the spring.