The Globe and Mail reports in its Thursday, Dec. 12, edition that inflation in the United States increased slightly last month. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that consumer prices rose 2.7 per cent in November compared with a year ago, up from 2.6 per cent in October. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, also remained steady at 3.3 per cent. Month-to-month, prices climbed 0.3 per cent, marking the largest increase since April. The probability of a rate cut next week rose to 98 per cent after Wednesday's inflation report was released. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said last week: "We're not quite there on inflation, but we're making progress. We can afford to be a little more cautious." One possible problem to the Fed's efforts to keep inflation down is Donald Trump's threat to impose widespread tariffs on U.S. imports -- a move that economists say would likely send inflation higher. Mr. Trump has indicated he might impose 10-per-cent tariffs on all imports and 60 per cent on goods from China. Economists at Goldman Sachs predict that core inflation could reach 2.7 per cent by the end of 2025 with these tariffs, compared with an estimated 2.4 per cent without them.
© 2025 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.