The latest Consumer Price Index showed a 12-month inflation rate of 2.7% and a 0.3% increase for the month of November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
The annual rate is 0.1 percentage point higher than the 12-month period that ended in October.
Viewed on a monthly basis, the 0.3% all-items inflation rate for November followed a 0.2% rate in each of the previous four months. The index for shelter rose 0.3% in November, accounting for nearly 40% of the monthly all-items increase.
The food index increased over the month, rising 0.4%, and the energy index rose 0.2%. Viewed on an annual basis, food prices are up 2.4% compared to a year ago, but energy prices are 3.2% lower than they were in November 2023.
The index that measures core inflation by excluding more volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3% in November, as it did in each of the previous three months. In November, notable monthly increases were recorded for the cost of shelter (+4.7%), used cars and trucks (+2%), household furnishings and operations (+0.6%), medical care (+0.3%), and new vehicles (0.6%).
The index for communication was among the few major indexes that decreased over the month, falling 1.0 % in November, following a 0.6% decline in both October and September.
Viewed on an annual basis, the index for all items less food and energy rose 3.3% percent for the 12-month period that ended in November. Notable increases were in the cost of shelter (+4.7%), motor vehicle insurance (+12.7%), medical care (+3.1%), education (+4.2%), and recreation (+1.5%).
The inflation report was in line with economists’ expectations and the stock market rose in morning trading. The CME Group’s FedWatch is now predicting there is a 96% probability that the Federal Reserve Board will approve at least a 25-basis point interest rate cut when it meets next week.
