May 28, 2024
U.S. inflation rate eases to 6.4% | CBC News

U.S. inflation rate eases to 6.4% | CBC News

Business·Breaking

The U.S. annual inflation rate cooled slightly in January even as the cost of things like food, shelter and gasoline got more expensive during the month.

Rate is coming down but not as fast as economists were hoping for

A man in a red shirt holding U.S. dollar bills fills up a gas tank.
A man holding U.S. bills fills up a gas tank in this photo from December 2022. The price of gasoline has been a major contributor to inflation for the past year. (Matias Delacroix/Bloomberg)

The U.S. annual inflation rate cooled slightly in January even as the cost of things like food, shelter and gasoline got more expensive during the month.

The U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics reported Tuesday that the Consumer Price Index came in at 6.4 per cent for the 12 months up until the end of January. That’s down from the previous month’s 6.5 per cent level but higher than the 6.2 per cent that economists were expecting.

The cost of living increased by 0.5 per cent in the month of January, with shelter costs increasing by 0.7 per cent. In the past year, shelter costs are up by 7.9 per cent.

The cost of food and gasoline was also more expensive in January than it was the previous month.

More to come.

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