U.S. consumer inflation unexpectedly dropped more than expected in November, delayed government data showed Thursday, although levels remained higher than earlier in the year before President Donald Trump's tariffs flowed through the economy.
The consumer price index (CPI) climbed 2.7% from a year ago in November, the Department of Labor said, notably below analysts' predictions of a 3.1% uptick.
The latest figure was also down from the 3.0% rise in September, the most recent month for which fuller data was available due to a lengthy government shutdown.
Inflation has ticked up this year as Trump slapped new tariffs on goods from U.S. trading partners, causing many firms to flag a hike in business costs.
But the impact on consumers has been more muted, as companies rushed to stock up on inventory before steeper import prices kicked in. Some opted not to fully pass on the costumers the increases in costs.
U.S. households, however, are still feeling the pinch from elevated costs overall.
Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, "core" CPI was up 2.6% from a year ago.
There were a few month-on-month comparisons in Thursday's report as the government shutdown from October to mid-November hampered the collection of October data.
