National + Finance | January 12, 2023

Inflation Rate Slows Further in December, Yet Fed Remains Committed to Rate Hikes

Price growth in the United States cooled in December as the economy continued to show signs of weakening, NBC News reported Thursday. The U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a year-over-year inflation rate of 6.5% for the month.

That figure was in line with analysts’ expectations, and a decrease from the 7.1% seen in November. The Consumer Price Index fell by 0.1% in December from November, in line with expectations. December marked the sixth consecutive month of declining inflation.

The slowing rate of inflation is likely to signal to the Federal Reserve that its interest-rate hikes are working. However, Chair Jerome Powell has not indicated any near-term plan to significantly curtail those increases until inflation nears 2%.

Some economists worry that still-high wage growth could keep consumers flush with cash and companies eager to raise prices to compensate, holding inflation above the Fed’s 2% target, the Wall Street Journal reported.

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Bureau of Labor Statistics

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).