US inflation falls to 2.4% in January after Trump’s tariffs led to price fluctuations
US inflation moderated in January to 2.4%, an easing after Donald Trump’s tariffs triggered price fluctuations last year.Prices rose 0.2% from December to January, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday measuring the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the price of a basket of goods and services.Core CPI, which strips out the volatile food and energy industries, went up 0.
3% over the month.Economists anticipated prices would ease slightly, pushing the annual inflation rate down to 2.5%.The news comes as polls show voters souring on Trump’s economic record.Last year, prices fluctuated wildly from spring to fall, going down to 2.
3% in April, the lowest in more than four years, then slowly climbing up to 3% by September.By November and December, inflation had fallen to 2.7%.In a statement, the White House said the new inflation figure was proof that Trump’s “America first agenda continues taming inflation – with no evidence of tariff-induced spikes”.“Today’s expectation-beating CPI report proves that President Trump has defeated Joe Biden’s inflation crisis,” it said.
“With inflation now low and stable, America’s economy is set to turbocharge even further through long-overdue interest rate cuts from the Fed.”Wall Street is closely watching this inflation report to estimate its potential impact on interest rates.The Federal Reserve held off on a rate cut last January, though it is unclear which direction the central bank is leaning before its next board meeting in March.Last month, the Fed chair, Jerome Powell, noted that Trump’s tariffs were still passing through the economy, though he expects they will cause a one-time increase in prices before settling into a new normal.“The expectation is that we will see the effects of tariffs flowing through goods prices, peaking, and then starting to come down,” Powell said.
“That’s what we expect to see over the course of this year.”The Fed is also watching the labor market, which showed signs of strength in January, though overall jobs growth in 2025 was revised down.In 2025, 181,000 jobs were added to the economy, compared with 2m in 2024, after revisions.The White House has largely looked past last year’s jobs numbers, with Trump touting growth in gross domestic product and price stability seen last fall.“We’ll go down as the greatest first year in history that nobody’s ever had, just based on the numbers,” Trump said in January.
But recent polling suggests American voters disapprove of Trump’s handling of the economy.A February Economist/YouGov poll showed 37% of American voters approve of his job performance – the lowest percentage across his first and second terms so far.Though the dip largely comes from the president’s handling of immigration, among all issues mentioned in the poll Trump’s lowest approval was on inflation.This poses trouble for Republicans heading into the midterms.Trump ran on heavy promises to tackle high prices, but the president’s focus on tariffs and immigration has left voters weary.
The White House appears to be aware of its growing problem on prices.In recent weeks, Trump rolled out measures addressing affordability, including proposals addressing housing prices, credit card debt and drug prices.
US inflation falls to 2.4% in January after Trump’s tariffs led to price fluctuations
US inflation moderated in January to 2.4%, an easing after Donald Trump’s tariffs triggered price fluctuations last year.Prices rose 0.2% from December to January, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday measuring the consumer price index (CPI), which measures the price of a basket of goods and services. Core CPI, which strips out the volatile food and energy industries, went up 0
Bank bosses get huge pay rises in sign top City salaries back to pre-crash highs
A trio of bank bosses have been given huge pay packets in the latest sign that the vast salaries and bonuses handed to Wall Street and City of London executives in the run-up to the 2008 financial crisis have started to return.NatWest on Friday revealed a £6.6m pay package for its boss Paul Thwaite, marking the largest payout for a chief executive of the banking group since his disgraced predecessor Fred Goodwin took home £7.7m in 2006.That was 33% higher than his £4
Shares in trucking and logistics firms plunge after AI freight tool launch
Shares in trucking and logistics companies have plunged as the sector became the latest to be targeted by investors fearful that new artificial intelligence tools could slash demand.A new tool launched by Algorhythm Holdings, a former maker of in-car karaoke systems turned AI company with a market capitalisation of just $6m (£4.4m), sparked a sell-off on Thursday that made the logistics industry the latest victim of AI jitters that have already rocked listed companies operating in the software and real estate sectors.The announcement about the performance capability of Algorhythm’s SemiCab platform, which it claimed was helping customers scale freight volumes by 300% to 400% without having to increase headcount, sparked an almost 30% surge in the company’s share price on Thursday.However, the impact of the announcement sent the Russell 3000 Trucking Index – which tracks shares in the US trucking sector – down 6
Tony Blair’s oil lobbying is a misleading rehash of fossil fuel industry spin
Ex-PM’s thinktank urges more drilling and fewer renewables, ignoring evidence that clean energy is cheaper and better for billsA thinktank with close ties to Saudi Arabia and substantial funding from a Donald Trump ally needs to present a particularly robust analysis to earn the right to be listened to on the climate crisis. On that measure, Tony Blair’s latest report fails on almost every point.The Tony Blair Institute for Global Change (TBI) received money from the Saudi government, has advised the United Arab Emirates petrostate, and counts as a main donor Larry Ellison, the founder of Oracle, friend of Trump and advocate of AI.The latest TBI report calls for an expansion of oil and gas production in the North Sea, despite the additional greenhouse gas emissions this would generate, and abandoning the UK government’s target to largely decarbonise the electricity sector by 2030, arguing that doing so is necessary to power AI datacentres.The report claims renewable energy is too expensive
UK economy grows by only 0.1% amid falling business investment
The UK economy expanded by only 0.1% in the final three months of last year, according to official data, as falling business investment and weak consumer spending led to little momentum going into 2026.Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that the economy grew at the same rate of 0.1% as the previous three months. This was less than a 0
Jim Ratcliffe apologises for ‘choice of language’ after saying immigrants ‘colonising’ UK
Monaco-based billionaire Jim Ratcliffe faced implicit criticism from the football club he co-owns, after widespread condemnation of his claims that the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants.The Manchester United co-owner was forced to issue a heavily qualified apology on Thursday after citing inaccurate immigration statisticsin comments labelled hypocritical and reminiscent of “far-right narratives”. Following a day of censure from the prime minister, football fans, union leaders and anti-racism campaigners, Ratcliffe said he was sorry his “choice of language has offended some people in the UK and Europe”.Just hours after Ratcliffe’s apology, United took the extraordinary step of publicly asserting their “inclusive and welcoming”. In statement that did not name Ratcliffe but clearly referred to his claims that the UK is being “colonised” by immigrants, United affirmed their commitment to “equality, diversity and inclusion”, adding: “Our diverse group of players, staff and global community of supporters reflect the history and heritage of Manchester; a city that anyone can call home
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