The core US consumer price index (CPI) recorded steady growth in January, as accelerated housing and clothing costs were offset by weakness in the prices of used vehicles and medical care products.

The basic CPI, which excludes prices for volatile products, reported a 0.2% increase over the previous month and 2.3% YoY, showed the Labor Ministry report. In December 2019, the indicator reported the same growths on a monthly and annual basis.

On the other hand, US inflation accelerated to 2.5% in January 2020 from 2.3% in December. This is the highest level of the meter since October 2018. Household spending, which represents about one-third of the total CPI, accelerated by 0.4% on a monthly basis. Rental prices for primary homes also rose by 0.4%. Clothing values ​​rose 0.7% on a monthly basis.

However, used car prices reported a fourth consecutive decline. In January the decrease amounted to 1.2%. Medical care products registered a 0.6% drop in value for the first time since September.

Energy prices were down by 0.7% on a monthly basis as gasoline prices fell by 1.6%. Food expenditure increased by 0.2% for the second consecutive month.

The governor of the US Federal Reserve, Jerome Powell, told Congress this week that the central bank expects inflation to accelerate to 2% over the next few months, as unusually low readings from early 2019 will gradually decline when making 12-month calculations.

Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s measurement of the American people’s expectation for inflation over the next 5 to 10 years has shown improved results in January to 2.5% from its record low of 2.2% in the previous month.

Government figures also show that average hourly earnings adjusted for price changes rose 0.6% year-on-year in January.

A separate report from the Ministry of Labor showed that claims for unemployment benefits remain at a historically low level. The number of applications in question increased from 2,000 to 205,000 last week.