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2025-12-18 21:38:35
[US Inflation Data Shows "Technical" Decline, but Affordability Challenges Persist Under the Shadow of Tariffs] ⑴ The US Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.7% year-on-year in November, lower than the market expectation of 3.1% and also lower than the 3.0% increase in September. ⑵ This slowdown may be technical, as the 43-day government shutdown prevented the release of October CPI data, and the November data collection was delayed until later this month, coinciding with retailers offering holiday discounts. ⑶ Despite the lower-than-expected inflation reading, Americans still face affordability challenges, partly due to Trump's tariff rhetoric. Economists point out that tariffs are gradually being passed on to consumers and disproportionately impacting low-income families. ⑷ The core CPI rose 2.6% year-on-year in November, a slowdown from 3.0% in September. ⑸ The Federal Reserve's Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index, used to measure inflation targets, has not yet provided a November update due to data release delays; in September, the index was still well above the target. (6) Federal Reserve officials cut interest rates by 25 basis points last week, but also indicated that borrowing costs are unlikely to fall further in the near term until the labor market and inflation direction become clearer. (7) Federal Reserve Chairman Powell has pointed out that the main cause of inflation overshooting is actually tariffs, and economists believe that the price declines resulting from recent tariff reductions on some goods may take time to be passed on to consumers.
