December CPI inflation report: Which prices changed the most last month
The Labor Department's consumer price index (CPI) report shows food prices increased 0.7% in December and were up 3.1% from a year ago. (Photo by TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images)
Inflation in the U.S. increased in December, according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Consumers are paying more for food but gas prices have declined.
CPI inflation report
By the numbers:
The BLS said consumer prices rose 0.3% in December and held steady at 2.7% on a year-over-year basis.
The figures are above the Federal Reserve's target rate as policymakers consider the case for interest rate cuts amid economic uncertainty.
Which prices increased?
Big picture view:
Gas prices
By the numbers:
Gas prices decreased by 0.4% in December and are down 2.3% from last year.
Grocery prices
By the numbers:
Grocery prices rose 0.7% in December.
Some items that saw price increases:
- Lunch meats +3.1%
- Bakery products +.4%
- Potatoes + 0.8%
- Peanut butter +4.3
- Beef +1.0%
The price of eggs continues to decline. Last month egg prices fell - 8.2% compared to last year.
Other grocery items that got cheaper:
- Bananas -1.6%
- Breakfast sausage -1.4%
- Breakfast cereal -1.0%
- Bacon -1.0%
- Fresh fish and seafood -1.2%
- Milk -0.2%
The October to mid-December 43-day government shutdown delayed previous CPI inflation reports and the BLS was unable to produce a report for October and collect ordinary data for the first half of November.
Economists have cautioned that, because of the disruption, the process used by the BLS to carry-forward data through the lapse in data collection could impart a downward bias on the CPI inflation data through April this year.
The Source: Information in this article was taken from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report released Tuesday, January 13, 2025, as part of December's Consumer Price Index and FOX Business. This story was reported from Orlando.