In the United States, annual inflation declined to its lowest in 15 months at 6.4 percent during January, and surpassing estimates of a decline towards 6.2 percent instead of increasing from December’s rate at 6.5%.
In keeping with forecasts, the US inflation rate advanced to 0.5% in January, representing a marked increase from its rise of merely 0.1% during the prior month.
The month-on-month increase in inflation was partially offset by higher gasoline prices, which increased 3.6 percent in January, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the CPI rose 0.4 percent last month, the same rate as in December.
The markets were awaiting the announcement of US inflation data, in an attempt to anticipate the course that the US Federal Reserve will adopt with regard to the interest rate during the coming period.
With US inflation rates still at high levels, the market is increasingly expecting more monetary tightening during the upcoming meetings of the Federal Reserve.
The US Federal Reserve raised key interest rates by 25 basis points, early this month, at its first meeting this year, to a range between 4.5 and 4.75 percent, in line with market expectations.
US Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell pledged more interest rate increases over the coming period in order to control inflation and bring it down to the target level of 2 percent.
Powell said that the US Federal Reserve has not yet reached sufficient interest rates to curb inflation, noting that the Fed is studying two new increases in interest rates in order to maintain a level of restrictive monetary policy that allows curbing inflation.
