- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
- Winning start for Pochettino's American adventure
- Tariffs, tax cuts, energy: What is in Trump's economic plan?
- Amazon wants to be everything to everyone
- US firms brace for more tariffs as election approaches
- Winning start for Poch's American adventure
- Morocco's tribeswomen see facial tattoo tradition fade
- Centre-left set to win as pro-Ukraine Lithuania votes
- Colombia guerilla group urges delegations not to attend COP16 in Cali
- Pakistan frets over security ahead of SCO summit
- Ronaldo scores 133rd Portugal goal in Nations League win over Poland
- 40 nations contributing to UN Lebanon peacekeeping force condemn 'attacks'
- Eight dead as heavy rain thrashes Brazil after long drought
- Jewish school in Canada hit by gunfire for second time
- Morocco crush Central African Republic, Guirassy scores hat-trick
- Dupont scores quickfire hat-trick on Toulouse Top 14 return
- Ronaldo scores in Portugal's Nations League win as Spain sink Denmark
- Interim boss Carsley has not applied for England job
- Mets hurler Senga ready to take on Dodgers in game one of NL Championship Series
- Ronaldo on target again as Portugal defeat Poland in Nations League
- Guardians rip Tigers 7-3 to advance in MLB playoffs
- AFP, BBC win top French war reporting awards
- Carsley goes back to basics as humbled England face Finland
- Alex Salmond: the man who took Scotland to the brink of independence
- Scotland's former leader Alex Salmond dies aged 69: party
- UN warns of catastrophe as Israel fights a two-front war
- Croatia extend Scotland's losing streak
- South Africa, New Zealand boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes
- 'Very challenging': Israel faces Hezbollah in tricky terrain
- Farrell begins to feel at home as Racing 92 beat Toulon
- South Africa boost T20 World Cup semi-final hopes with Bangladesh win
US inflation picks up on bumpy path to cool price gains
Consumer inflation in the United States rose more than anticipated in December, government data showed Thursday, with President Joe Biden conceding he must do more to tackle high prices.
The Department of Labor's consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose 3.4 percent from a year ago, up from November.
This underscores the bumpy road to lowering price increases as the presidential election looms in November.
Underlying pressures appear to be ebbing, as a "core" metric that strips out volatile food and energy prices cooled to 3.9 percent in the last month of 2023 -- the lowest since May 2021.
But a rising inflation figure complicates the picture for Biden, who heads into his reelection campaign facing persistent negative perceptions about the economy.
"The economy has created more than 14 million jobs since I took office, and wealth, wages, and employment are higher now than under my predecessor," said Biden in a statement Thursday.
"But there is much more work to do to lower costs for American families and American workers."
Analysts do not expect Federal Reserve officials to base their rate-setting off of one month's data, though accelerating inflation could add pressure on the central bank to hold interest rates at a high level.
The Fed rapidly lifted rates beginning in 2022 and have held them at a 22-year high, seeking to ease demand and sustainably rein in inflation.
- 'Step back' -
Despite the CPI uptick in December, inflation has come down significantly from the 9.1 percent peak in June 2022, while consumer spending and the jobs market remained resilient.
This has fueled hopes of a so-called "soft landing" for the world's biggest economy, where inflation cools without a damaging recession.
From November to December, CPI rose 0.3 percent, up from the prior month.
"The index for shelter continued to rise in December," the Labor Department said in its report.
The energy index jumped 0.4 percent over the month on increases in electricity and gasoline, while the food index rose 0.2 percent, holding steady.
Describing the inflation battle as two steps forward and one step back, economist Robert Frick of the Navy Federal Credit Union said: "December was a clear step back."
He noted that shelter prices accounted over half the increase, with little relief in sight "as rents prove sticky and homeownership costs rise."
Consumers also "felt the most immediate pain in December from higher food and energy prices, and those are the two commodities Americans are most sensitive to," Frick said.
As Biden seeks another term in office, he has focused on touting achievements such as the growing economy and low unemployment.
But households are still feeling the squeeze of stubborn inflation and his economic agenda, dubbed "Bidenomics," has not appeared to resonate strongly despite largely encouraging data.
- Rate cut expectations -
Looking ahead, all eyes are on the Fed, with economist Michael Pearce of Oxford Economics expecting the larger than expected inflation jump "will reverse some of the more aggressive rate cut bets this year."
Although the Fed has signaled that it saw three rate reductions this year, markets are now moderating their expectations of an early start to the reductions.
But analysts maintain that the big picture has not changed.
"Core goods prices are flat or falling, rent gains are slowing but remain elevated, and core services inflation is still sticky," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
He expects the Fed to wait for more data as it mulls the path of rates.
"Fed officials will likely look through any upturn in headline CPI inflation, especially if it comes from the more volatile components," added economist Oren Klachkin of Nationwide.
An upturn in core inflation "would get their attention, especially if it continues into January," he told AFP.
T.Ward--AMWN