According to the latest data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the core Consumer Price Index (CPI) in the United States rose by 0.4% in January, up from 0.2% in December last year, and increased by 3.3% year-on-year. This data indicates that even after excluding food and energy prices, inflationary pressure remains significant, reflecting the persistence of core inflation. Meanwhile, the overall CPI also increased by 0.5% month-on-month and rose by 3% year-on-year.
Following the release of these figures, economists believe that the core CPI better reflects the fundamental inflation trend in the economy, as overall CPI is greatly affected by fluctuations in food and energy prices. Among the specific data, rising housing prices are one of the main factors driving the increase in overall CPI, accounting for nearly 30% of the rise.
The report also made adjustments to the weighting of the consumer price basket to more accurately reflect American consumers' spending habits. Additionally, the annual recalculation corrected the seasonally adjusted monthly data of the past five years, providing a more precise baseline for future inflation forecasts.
For the Federal Reserve, the current level of inflation exceeds market expectations, which may prompt it to adopt a more cautious rate cut path in subsequent monetary policy decisions, especially in the context of the continued rise in core CPI.
