Jan. 26 (UPI) — Inflation continued to cool, with the Commerce Department’s personal consumption expenditures price index for December increasing 0.2% over the previous month and 2.9% over the past year, excluding food and energy.
The numbers are in line with Dow Jones economists, who predicted a 0.2% over the past month and 3% over the past year.
When food and energy is included in the index, monthly prices in December increased 0.2% while holding flat at 2.6% annually at the same time last year.
“One can’t help but be somewhat optimistic about the American economy going forward, given the fact that we are at the doorstep of price stability, and the inflation fight has essentially ended,” Joe Brusuelas, principal and chief economist at RSM US, told CNN.
President Joe Biden said the figures are another sign that the economy continues to move in the right direction.
“An important inflation gauge released Friday showed that the rate of price increases cooled as 2023 came to an end,” Biden said in a White House statement. “We learned this morning that inflation was at the pre-pandemic benchmark of 2% in the second half of the year.
“As more Americans are feeling more confident about the economy, I remain laser-focused on doing everything in my power to lower costs for families and fight back against extreme Republican efforts to hand out massive giveaways to the wealthy and large corporations, while raising the costs of prescription drugs and cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”
