U.S. headline inflation grows to 3.4% in Dec

U.S. headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased at an annual pace of 3.4 per cent in December, more than an expected rise of 3.2 per cent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on Thursday.

Core consumer price inflation, which excludes food and energy costs, was 3.9 per cent for the year to December, slightly lower than the four per cent figure for November.

This driven by the food prices which increased 0.2 per cent in December, the same as in November. Energy posted a 0.4 per cent gain after sliding 2.3 per cent in November as gasoline rose 0.2 per cent but natural gas declined 0.4 per cent.