Economics
Underlying U.S. Inflation Picks Up to Keep Fed Hike on Track
- Core CPI rises 2.2% from year earlier following 2.1% gain
- Housing, medical care, used cars drive increase in prices
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A key measure of U.S. inflation picked up as expected in November on rising costs for housing, medical care and used cars, reinforcing expectations that the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next week.
The so-called core consumer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.2 percent from the prior month and 2.2 percent from a year earlier, according to a Labor Department report Wednesday. That matched the median estimates in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The broader CPI was unchanged from the prior month, also in line with projections, as energy prices plunged.