Consumer prices still recorded readings in line with expectations in November when a drop in energy prices managed to push headline inflation down, based on the latest data from the Department of Statistics released a while ago.
The Consumer Price Index (CPI), which will be the last reading released in 2023, shows that prices rose slightly by 0.1% compared to last month and increased 3.1% compared to the previous year in November. This figure grew slightly slower than the 3.2% annual increase in October.
Economists expect prices to remain unchanged month-on-month and increase 3.2% year-on-year, based on data from Bloomberg.
As expected, lower energy costs drove a small increase with energy prices down 2.3% month-on-month, driven by lower gasoline prices, which fell 6.0% over November.
At the basic "core" level, a calculation of inflation that does not take into account more volatile costs such as food and gasoline, core CPI in November rose 4.0% from last year in line with the annual increase seen in October. Monthly core prices rose 0.3%, slightly higher than the 0.2% monthly increase in October. Economists expect core inflation to be at that level.
The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six other currencies, traded slightly firmer, although it was down 0.28% to trade at 103,440 after the CPI data was released.
