Inflation remained at 2.7% in December, as high prices continue to weigh on many Americans

By Alicia Wallace, CNN

(CNN) — US consumer prices rose 2.7% annually in December, closing out a year that saw slight progress on inflation but continued affordability concerns for many Americans.

The latest Consumer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices for some commonly purchased goods and services, showed that the annual pace of inflation was unchanged from November, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Tuesday.

However, the monthly pace of inflation accelerated to 0.3% from November, when prices rose at an estimated average pace of 0.1%.

However, November’s report was abnormal in many aspects, because data collection for that month and for October was negatively impacted by the 43-day government shutdown. As a result, the prior CPI report presented a much cooler picture of inflation.

For December, economists were expecting that monthly CPI would rise 0.3% from November and ease slightly to 2.6% on an annual basis, according to FactSet estimates. Expectations were similar for core inflation, which excludes food and energy: Economists anticipated core CPI would rise by 0.3% and the annual rate would tick up to 2.7%.

Tuesday’s report showed that core CPI, a closely watched indicator of underlying inflation, rose 0.2% from November, which brought the annual rate to 2.7% in December from the year before.

At the end of 2025, inflation continued to run at a higher-than-normal pace. However, the final CPI for the year did show that some progress occurred: The overall and core inflation rates of 2.7% were cooler than January’s 3% and 3.3% rates, respectively, BLS data shows.

This story is developing and will be updated.

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