Progress on inflation should stall this year” as fiscal, immigration and trade policies shift, caution Bank of America economists.

Entering 2025, models from forecasting companies like Trading Economics anticipate inflation rates between 2.4% and 2.9% between the end of 2024 and the start of 2026. Unfortunately, actually predicting inflation can be difficult, as rates can be affected by a variety of factors, including political climates and supply-chain interruptions.

The latest inflation report slashed the risk that the Fed could go back to hiking interest rates this year, Wall Street strategists say.

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

The consumer price index, an inflation gauge, rose 2.9% on an annual basis in December 2024 on the back of higher food and energy prices.

The path of inflation proved bumpier than expected in December, with price growth picking up more than economists had forecast. The consumer price index climbed 2.9% year over year in December, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Healthy employment conditions and wage growth continue to outpace inflation, but that’s not creating any additional inflationary pressures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that the index for services (less energy services) rose 0.

Shelter costs were 4.6% higher in December than a year earlier, and they account for more than a third of the consumer price index.

According to BLS, natural gas prices in the metro Atlanta area were up almost 15% while gasoline rose nearly 4%, though electricity costs fell 2.1%. The next look at the Atlanta area’s price trends will be published in March.

Inflation has been around since the days of Alexander the Great and it's not showing any signs of going away. In combating this pesky problem, the Federal Reserve uses interest rates as a primary tool to control inflation.

Prices for goods and services continue to rise more slowly here than in most big cities, with metro Phoenix posting a 1.6% inflation rate in 2024.

On Wednesday, the price of bitcoin continued rising, surging to over $99,000 as it looked poised to return to the $100,000 mark, driven by new inflation data. Minutes after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics unveiled new data from the Consumer Price Index, bitcoin’s price jumped by $1,500, representing a 2% price improvement for the day.