- Jennifer Lee, BMO Capital Markets
US consumer prices posted the largest increase since February 2013 last month amid higher gasoline prices, keeping the Federal Reserve on course to raise interest rates further this year. The US Commerce Department reported on Wednesday its headline CPI climbed 0.6% month-over-month in January, while analysts expected the Index to remain unchanged from the prior month at 0.3%. Excluding volatile items, core consumer prices rose 0.3% last month, after growing 0.2% in December. The January inflation jump was mainly driven by higher gasoline, apparel and motor vehicles prices. On Tuesday, the Fed Chair Janet Yellen said the Bank would probably raise rates at its next policy meeting. Other data released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday showed retail sales advanced 0.4% in January after surging 1.0% in the previous month. However, analysts anticipated an increase of just 0.1% in the reported month. Furthermore, data showed core retail sales climbed 0.8% last month, following December's upwardly revised increase of 0.4%. A 1.6% rise in sales at electronics and appliances stores, the largest since June 2015, contributed the most to retail sales growth in January. Back in December, these stores posted a 1.1% drop in sales. In the meantime, automobile sales dropped 1.4%, the largest fall since March 2016, last month after surging 3.2% in December.
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