Inflation

The central bank wants to let Trump's policies play out across the economy before deciding which way to move interest rates, and it's too soon to know what the impacts will be, the Federal Reserve chair said.

The personal consumption expenditures index showed headline inflation flat at 2.5%, but the details of the report explain the Federal Reserve's reluctance to adjust interest rates.

Strong economic growth coupled with a solid labor market allows officials to wait for further evidence of cooling inflation before adjusting rates again. It also offers them time to evaluate President Donald Trump's policies.

Although a new administration means policy uncertainty, most analysts see the economy growing above trend next year, although inflation will remain a concern.

The overall price drop was offset by interest payments, allowing a broad gauge of the Treasury market to post a gain of about 0.7% this year through Dec. 30.

Federal Reserve Gov. Christopher Waller, a Trump appointee, said that while recent inflation readings are concerning, monetary policy would remain restrictive even if the central bank cuts interest rates by another quarter-point this month.

Underlying U.S. inflation eased for a fourth month on an annual basis in July, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to lower interest rates next month.

The Federal Reserve held firm on its current interest rate levels after its latest meeting, but inflation numbers are leading to talk of potential action in third and fourth quarters.

The so-called core personal consumption expenditures price index barely rose in November and trailed policymakers' 2% target by one measure, reinforcing the central bank's pivot toward interest-rate cuts next year.

The so-called core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.2% from September, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed Tuesday.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Reserve and other banking regulators rolled out their annual adjustments for the thresholds that determine whether activities are eligible for enhanced standards.

Consumer spending has driven core inflation metrics to their highest levels in months, according to data released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Higher inflation will likely serve as a signal to the Federal Reserve to maintain high interest rates.

The Federal Reserve released its semiannual financial stability report highlighting elevated asset values, funding issues and pockets of leverage as top concerns.

The Senior Citizens League anticipates a 3.2% boost to Social Security in 2024. But will it be enough?

Bond traders have overestimated month-over-month headline inflation heading into four of the last seven Consumer Price Index releases, says strategist Raghav Datla.

Economists lowered their projections for the consumer price index as well as the personal consumption expenditures price index for every quarter through the first half of 2024, according to the latest Bloomberg monthly survey.

An estimated 70% of goods transported in steel boxes on giant ships do so under long-term contracts and those deals were renegotiated in 2021 and 2022 at much higher rates. Big retailers and manufacturers may not be seeing enough shipping-rate reductions yet to warrant slashing prices further.

The impact of a weakening economy on quarterly performance will become clearer by the second week of January as banks begin to report fourth-quarter earnings.

Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari compared the recent inflation to rideshare surge pricing, and called for a new approach to gauging and modeling price pressures.