Inflation remained steady in December, coming in at 2.7 percent, above the Federal Reserve's target rate of 2 percent. However, the month's inflation numbers still managed to beat expectations, remaining unchanged from the month of November and holding steady from inflation rates a year earlier.
🚨 JUST IN: BRUTAL loss for the experts and Jerome Powell after inflation comes in at just 2.7% PERCENT - the tariffs did NOT cause massive inflation
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 13, 2026
"This shows how WRONG Fed Chair Jerome Powell was!"
Trump and Scott Bessent were right again! 🇺🇸🇺🇸pic.twitter.com/UfiHJyqvhc
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the consumer price index (CPI), which broadly measures everyday goods, rose 0.3 percent from November and 2.7 percent on a year-over-year basis.
Core prices, which exclude volatile items, rose 0.2 percent from the prior month and 2.6 percent from a year earlier, both slightly below economists’ expectations of 0.3 percent and 2.7 percent, respectively.
The overall price of food increased by 0.7 percent for the month and was up 3.1 percent from a year ago. Prices for meats, poultry, and fish rose 6.9 percent from a year earlier, while egg prices fell 8.2 percent. Meanwhile, the fruits and vegetables index increased 0.5 percent month over month and remained unchanged from a year ago.
Energy prices rose 0.3 percent in December and were up 2.3 percent from a year earlier. Gasoline prices fell 0.4 percent month over month and were down 3.4 percent compared with last year, while electricity costs fell slightly by 0.1 percent in December but have climbed 6.7 percent over the past year.
President Trump took to Truth Social to celebrate the report, crediting tariffs for the results while blasting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, whom he has criticized for resisting sharp interest rate cuts the president has pushed for. Trump wrote:
JUST OUT: Great (LOW!) Inflation numbers for the USA. That means that Jerome “Too Late” Powell should cut interest rates, MEANINGFULLY!!! If he doesn’t he will just continue to be, “TOO LATE!” ALSO OUT, GREAT GROWTH NUMBERS. Thank you MISTER TARIFF! President DJT
🚨 BREAKING: President Trump demands Fed Chair Jerome Powell SLASH interest rates after low inflation numbers are released
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) January 13, 2026
"If he doesn’t he will just continue to be, “TOO LATE!” ALSO OUT, GREAT GROWTH NUMBERS. Thank you MISTER TARIFF!" 🇺🇸🔥
Do the right thing and CUT RATES. pic.twitter.com/GIxvb9Tl0s