Price pressures started the year on a cooler note. Consumer-price inflation in the U.S. decelerated from 2.7% in December to 2.4% in January on an annual basis, slipping below the 2.5% forecast and hitting the lowest level since May 2025.

The monthly numbers tell a similar story. Headline CPI climbed just 0.2% from December, coming in below both the prior month's 0.3% and what economists expected.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also softened. The year-over-year figure dropped from 2.6% in December to 2.5% in January, landing right where forecasters predicted and marking the lowest core reading since March 2021.

On a monthly basis, core CPI rose 0.3%, matching expectations and ticking up slightly from December's 0.2% increase.