Live updates: Trump tells business chiefs ‘inflation is defeated’

Danielle Kaye
New York business reporter

Trump claims that
inflation has been “defeated”. That echoes his comments on social
media earlier today, lauding new inflation data released this morning showing
that the pace of price increases was relatively contained in December.

But economists warn that lower
and middle income Americans are being hit particularly hard by rising prices,
even though, broadly speaking, Trump’s tariffs haven’t had as big an impact on
prices as initially expected.

Overall, consumer
prices rose 2.7% from a year ago in December, the same pace as November,
according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That figure, while relatively
subdued, is still above the Federal Reserve’s 2% target.

The pace of price
increases also varied by sector. Food prices, which are at the heart of many
Americans’ qualms about the economy, rose 3.1% from a year earlier and grocery
prices, specifically, rose 2.4%. Energy prices rose 2.3% year-over-year.

On the other hand,
prices for used vehicles, some types furniture and gasoline all fell from the
previous month.