The year-over-year inflation rate in January, the month President Donald Trump returned to the White House, was 3.0%.

Fed officials should be able to focus on the wavering labor market and cut interest rates by another quarter percentage point at their final meeting of the year next week, thanks to relatively stable inflation data.

Federal Reserve policymakers cut interest rates by 25 basis points for the third straight meeting, though their dot plot projections suggest only one interest rate cut expected in 2026.

Fed chief Jerome Powell said the rate of U.S. inflation should peak in the first three months of 2026 and then start to slow again. Barring, that is, additional U.S. tariffs, Powell said. The previous tariffs contributed to a rise in inflation this year,

Inflation is a word you hear all the time. However, many people don't fully understand how it works or how it impacts their daily lives.

European stocks were higher on Thursday as investors digest the U.S. Federal reserve's rate cut and commentary.

Current mortgage rates are up today and higher than they were seven days ago. Rates are lower than they were in early 2025, when the average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage reached above 7%. But rates are still relatively high as fears around stubborn inflation have kept the Federal Reserve from lowering its benchmark rate until now.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Americans’ struggles with high living costs stem largely from the elevated inflation experienced in 2022 and 2023 rather than today’s slower price increases. He emphasized that the Fed’s priority is to bring inflation back to its 2% target while maintaining a strong labour market with rising real wages.