US inflation beats forecasts, rises to 3% in January

The US annual inflation rate accelerated in January more than expected, while core inflation stabilized, which may drive the Federal Reserve to maintain high interest rates for a longer period.

Official data released on Wednesday showed that consumer prices inflation rose to 3% in January, compared to expectations of a 2.9% increase.

Meanwhile, the US core counterpart - which excludes volatile items of food and energy prices - stabilized at 3.3% in January, compared to expectations of a slowdown to 3.2%.

On a monthly basis, the consumer price index picked up 0.5% in January after rising 0.4% and 0.3% in the previous two months, respectively.

The rise month-on-month in the consumer prices index was due to an increase in the prices of housing and transportation services, and used and new vehicles, against a decline in clothing prices, while health care services prices stabilized.

U.S. food prices rose 0.4% MoM in January after stabilizing at 0.3% the previous month, while the energy price index slowed to 1.1% MoM compared to a 2.4% rise in December.