Inflation accelerated in January, rising 3% on an annual basis, indicating that the Federal Reserve's push to drive inflation down to a 2% annual rate has stalled out, at least temporarily. The Consumer Price Index was forecast to rise 2.

CPI data will make the Federal Reserve more cautious about inflation risks, with more Fed watchers saying the central bank wouldn’t cut rates at all this year. U.S. headline CPI inflation rose 0.5% in January,

“Core” C.P.I., which more closely reflects underlying inflation by removing volatile food and energy prices, also showed little improvement. It rose 0.4 percent from December or 3.3 percent on a year-over-year basis, both higher than economists expected. The monthly increase in core prices was the highest since April 2023.