Consumer Price Index showed an acceleration to 2.9%, the highest rate since July. With such high inflation, the Fed is unlikely to cut rates in January.

Inflation is proving stickier than expected, which could cause Fed to hit pause button on more interest rate cuts.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the consumer price index report for December earlier today. What the inflation data means for the Fed and interest rates.

Annual inflation ticked up for a third straight month in December as food, energy costs rose, CPI report showed. But underlying price measure eased.

Federal Reserve policymakers may be able to reduce interest rates a couple of times this year, traders bet on Wednesday, after a government report helped allay fears that inflation was accelerating in the final full month of Joe Biden's presidency.

Recently, progress on inflation appeared to be stuck or, at worst, reversing: A closely watched gauge of underlying price hikes — an index that excludes highly volatile categories — hadn’t budged for months.

A key measure of consumer prices rose less than expected in December, perhaps calming at least temporarily fresh worries about a recent rebound in inflation. An uptick in inflation since the end of su