USA: A report released on Friday by the Commerce Department stated that consumer prices in the US increased by 0.6% month over month in January after increasing by 0.2% in December. Prices rose 5.4% more than they did in December on an annual basis, to an increase of 5.3%.
In the meantime, the personal consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge, increased by 5.4% from a year earlier. Core inflation, which doesn't include wildly fluctuating food and energy prices, increased by 4.7% from one year ago.
Forecasters' expectations were exceeded by the price readings for January, dash hopes that the Fed might decide to halt its rate-hike campaign. The regulator has introduced eight significant interest rate increases since last March in an effort to control prices.
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Officials from the Federal Reserve said this week that persistently high inflation is caused by a complex web of factors and is unlikely to slow down in the near future.
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Governor Philip Jefferson said in remarks for a panel that "the inflationary forces impinging on the US economy at present represent a complex mixture of temporary and more long-lasting elements that defy simple, parsimonious explanation."
"The persistent mismatch between labour supply and demand, along with the significant share of labour costs in the services sector, point to high labour costs,"
