By Brett Rowland | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – Consumer prices climbed 2.7% annually in December, marking the end of a year of continued concerns about affordability for Americans.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers increased 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in December, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday. Over the last year, the all items index increased 2.7%.
Excluding food and energy, the index rose 2.6% over the last year. The energy index increased 2.3% for the year. The food index increased 3.1% over the last year.
“Overall, a mild inflation report for December,” said Heather Long, the chief economist for Navy Federal. “This is encouraging news for the economy.”
U.S. House Budget Chairman Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said the report confirm’s GOP policies are working.
The White House said the report showed Trump had tamed inflation with tariffs and tax cuts.
“Yet another report confirms that President Trump has defeated the inflation crisis inherited from the Biden Administration, while so-called ‘experts’ continue to be proven wrong month after month,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. “President Trump’s powerful tariffs, massive tax cuts for working families, and sweeping deregulatory agenda have positioned our economy for a boom in 2026. Americans are already seeing the results: workers’ wages are rising rapidly, trillions in investments are flowing into the country to create good-paying jobs, and economic growth is accelerating.”
Trump said the report proves that the Federal Reserve should cut benchmark interest rates.
“That means that Jerome ‘Too Late’ Powell should cut interest rates, MEANINGFULLY!!!,” Trump wrote in a social media post Tuesday morning.
However, the Justice Department’s criminal probe into Powell’s testimony before Congress about a renovation project could delay action from the Federal Reserve, experts said after Powell announced the criminal probe publicly on Sunday.
Last week, Trump announced that the federal government would purchase $200 billion in mortgage bonds to lower interest rates and monthly payments.