Inflation cooled to a 2.6% annual rate in November, as measured by the gauge favored by the Federal Reserve, declining 0.3 percentage points from the previous reading.
Inflation, as measured by the producer price index, rose by two-tenths of a percentage point to 2.2% for the year ending in September, the third month of increases, driven in large part by higher energy costs.
Reports show that inflation ticked up last month, but most economists and investors still think the Federal Reserve will hold off on hiking interest rates again at its meeting next week.