Tariffs are a wild-card for inflation this year, but it is too soon to say what any changes will mean for the Federal Reserve, said central-bank newcomer Beth Hammack. In an interview, the Cleveland F

The central bank’s recent infusion of financial-market brawn includes Beth Hammack, who worked for three decades at Goldman Sachs.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier, but a measure of underlying inflation was more encouraging.

U.S. inflation likely worsened last month on the back of higher prices for gas, eggs, and used cars, a trend that could make it less likely that the Federal Reserve will cut its key interest rate much this year.

The U.S. Federal Reserve will hold interest rates steady on Jan. 29 and resume cutting in March, according to a slim majority of economists polled by Reuters, as policymakers digest an expected barrage of new economic policies from Washington.

The Federal Reserve has now battled high inflation for nearly four years. Economists point to the Federal Reserve's rate cuts, rising oil prices, consumer psychology, and potential tariffs as factors holding back inflation's progress.

Investors initially expected multiple rate cuts in 2024, but now anticipate at most one, reflecting the Fed's ongoing inflation concerns. Read what investors need to know.

(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Beth Hammack said in an interview published in the Wall Street Journal on Friday that inflation remained a problem. "We still have an inflation problem. We still have a rate-of-change problem that we need to address," Hammack told the Journal.

Inflation rose 2.9% on an annual basis in December, with the latest Consumer Price Index illustrating the Federal Reserve's challenge in battling stickier-than-expected price increases.

US consumer prices showed no signs of cooling in December amid higher costs for energy goods, but the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge dipped — leading to a rally on Wall Street.

The Federal Reserve's premature victory lap over inflation reveals a worrisome misunderstanding of the predicament we still find ourselves in.

December's CPI print finally showed some relief in core inflation. But the threat of sticky prices is still a reality for most economists.