By Steve Holland and Nandita Bose
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden on Tuesday said inflation in the United States was coming down and he hopes prices will be back to normal by the end of next year.
U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected for a second straight month in November, resulting in the smallest annual increase in inflation in nearly a year and giving the Federal Reserve cover to start scaling back the size of its interest rate increases.
The consumer price index readings last month reflected declines in the costs of gasoline, healthcare and used cars and trucks but Americans still faced higher prices for food and rental housing.
"I want to be clear, it's going to take time to get inflation back to normal levels. As we make the transition to a more stable growth, we could see setbacks along the way as well. We shouldn't take anything for granted," he said.
Biden said his goal was to get price increases under control without hurting economic growth and to lower inflation while keeping the labor market resilient.
He said prices on many items were still high but that gas prices were now lower than they were a year ago, food inflation slowed last month and prices of items such as televisions, used cars and toys are coming down.
Biden further said he hopes prices will be back to normal by the end of next year but is confident they are not going to go up.