U.S. Inflation Holds Steady at 2.7% for December
In December, U.S. inflation remained stable at an annual rate of 2.7%, meeting market forecasts and holding steady from the previous month. While "headline" inflation was driven by rising costs in housing (+0.3%), food (+0.7%), and energy (+0.3%), the core inflation rate—which strips out volatile food and energy prices—came in slightly lower than expected at 2.6%.
This cooling in core prices sparked optimism in the financial markets, boosting both gold and stock futures. Investors viewed the data as a positive sign that inflation is moving toward the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal, strengthening the belief that the Fed may implement two interest rate cuts by the middle of 2026.
