Inflation Ticks Higher in January, Surpassing Predictions

In January, the prices of goods went up a bit more than what experts thought they would, showing that inflation isn’t slowing down as quickly as hoped. The Consumer Price Index (CPI), increased by 0.3% from December to January and was 3.1% higher than last January. This was more than the expected 0.2% monthly increase and 2.9% yearly increase. Without including food and gas, which can have big price changes quickly, prices still went up by 0.4% in just a month. Investors are watching these numbers to predict when the Federal Reserve might lower interest rates to make borrowing money cheaper.