Investing.com - U.S. consumer prices unexpectedly fell in December as the cost of energy dropped, indicating that inflation could be slow to rise towards the Federal Reserve's 2% inflation target.
The U.S. consumer price index dipped 0.1% last month after being unchanged in November. Analysts had expected an unchanged reading.
Despite the drop last month, consumer prices rose 0.7% in the 12 months to December, the biggest increase in a year.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy costs, ticked up 0.1%, missing forecasts for a gain of 0.2% and were up 2.1% from a year earlier.
The soft monthly inflation readings, together with further declines in oil prices suggest it could be harder for inflation to rise toward the central bank's target this year.