The Globe and Mail reports in its Saturday, Feb. 14, edition that a key U.S. inflation measure dropped to nearly a five-year low last month. An Associated Press dispatch to The Globe reports that inflation fell to 2.4 per cent in January, down from 2.7 per cent in December and nearing the Federal Reserve's 2-per-cent target. Core prices, excluding food and energy, rose 2.5 per cent in January, the smallest increase since March, 2021. Friday's report suggests inflation is cooling, but the cost of food, gas and apartment rents has soared after the pandemic, with consumer prices still about 25 per cent higher than they were five years ago. The increase in such a broad range of costs has kept "affordability," a topic that helped shape the most recent United States presidential election, front and centre as a dominant political issue. In January, consumer prices increased by 0.2 per cent from December, with core prices up 0.3 per cent. Core inflation was dampened by a 1.8-per-cent drop in used car prices for the month. "Inflation continues to decelerate and is not threatening to move back up, and that will enable more rate cuts by the Fed," said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust.