January's Consumer Price Index will serve as the latest test of whether inflation pressures have eased further.

Year-over-year core CPI (which excludes volatile food and energy costs) rose 3.2%, below the November rate of 3.3%. The CPI increased 0.4% month over month in December after rising 0.3% in November.

Excluding energy and food, the closely watched core CPI gauge slowed for the first time in months, rising just 0.2% from November and easing to 3.2% after staying stuck at 3.3% since September 2024.