Entering 2025, models from forecasting companies like Trading Economics anticipate inflation rates between 2.4% and 2.9% between the end of 2024 and the start of 2026. Unfortunately, actually predicting inflation can be difficult, as rates can be affected by a variety of factors, including political climates and supply-chain interruptions.

The latest inflation report slashed the risk that the Fed could go back to hiking interest rates this year, Wall Street strategists say.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier, but a measure of underlying inflation was more encouraging.

The path of inflation proved bumpier than expected in December, with price growth picking up more than economists had forecast. The consumer price index climbed 2.9% year over year in December, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The consumer price index, an inflation gauge, rose 2.9% on an annual basis in December 2024 on the back of higher food and energy prices.

Shelter costs were 4.6% higher in December than a year earlier, and they account for more than a third of the consumer price index.

According to BLS, natural gas prices in the metro Atlanta area were up almost 15% while gasoline rose nearly 4%, though electricity costs fell 2.1%. The next look at the Atlanta area’s price trends will be published in March.

The better-than-expected data sent the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average surging more than 700 points, or 1.7%, as investors felt renewed confidence that the Fed will cut rates multiple times this year. In recent trading, fed-fund futures showed the chances of more than one cut rising to 46%, from 35% on Tuesday, according to CME Group data.

Prices for goods and services continue to rise more slowly here than in most big cities, with metro Phoenix posting a 1.6% inflation rate in 2024.

On Wednesday, the price of bitcoin continued rising, surging to over $99,000 as it looked poised to return to the $100,000 mark, driven by new inflation data. Minutes after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics unveiled new data from the Consumer Price Index, bitcoin’s price jumped by $1,500, representing a 2% price improvement for the day.

Healthy employment conditions and wage growth continue to outpace inflation, but that’s not creating any additional inflationary pressures. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that the index for services (less energy services) rose 0.