United States: Inflation rises in November
Latest reading: Inflation came in at 2.7% in November, up from October’s 2.6% and moving further above the Fed’s 2.0% target. Looking at the details of the release, food prices rose at a quicker pace in November compared to the previous month, and price pressures for transportation rebounded.
The trend was unchanged, with annual average inflation coming in at October’s 3.0% in November. Meanwhile, core inflation was unchanged, coming in at October’s 3.3% in November.
Finally, consumer prices rose 0.31% in November over the previous month, accelerating from the 0.24% rise seen in October. November’s figure marked the highest reading since April.
Panelist insight: On the monetary policy implications, ING’s James Knightley said:
“In terms of implication for policy, the jobs market is cooling and the Federal Reserve repeatedly acknowledges that monetary policy is still in restrictive territory. As such, the Fed appears happy to gradually move policy closer to the neutral level of around 3% and we expect another 25bp rate cut next week. However, the lack of meaningful progress on inflation means that in their summary of economic projections, officials are likely to signal just three rate cuts in 2025 versus the four they projected in September.”