US consumer inflation holds steady as affordability worries linger

The consumer price index (CPI), a key inflation gauge, rose 2.7 percent last month from a year ago, the same rate as in November, said the Department of Labor. On a month-on-month basis, CPI was up 0.3 percent, also unchanged from the rate in September. This was the most recent month where comparable figures were available, due to a government shutdown that hampered data collection. Trump was quick to laud the latest figures, saying that inflation numbers were "low." "That means that Jerome 'Too Late' Powell should cut interest rates...