Inflation held steady at nearly half the Biden Administration’s rate in December, Consumer Price Index (CPI) data released Tuesday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show. Not only was the 12-month CPI increase of 2.7% unchanged from November’s 2.7% year-to-year rate, it was also cooler than economists had expected. Likewise, the “core” rate of inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, remained at 2.6% - the lowest 12-month increase in almost four years (since March of 2021). Reacting to the new report, the Trump Administration took to social media to note that current inflation remains well below the level it inherited when President Donald Trump entered the White House last January: “Brand new data confirms inflation remains LOW and UNDER CONTROL. “Since President Trump took office, headline inflation has been running at 2.4% (much lower than 3% inherited from Biden) and core inflation has been running at 2.4% (much lower than 3.3% inherited from Biden).” Indeed, December’s 2.7% rate is nearly half the 5.0% average monthly inflation rate during the Biden Administration (February 2021-January 2025). Compared to November, CPI was up a seasonally-adjusted 0.3%. The October-to-November change is unmeasurable due to the 43-day federal government shutdown that began in October, which prevented the BLS from collecting data. The index for shelter rose 0.4% from the previous month in December and was the largest factor in the all-items monthly increase. The food index increased 0.7% over the month, as did both the food at home index and the food away from home index. The index for meats, poultry, fish, and eggs rose 3.9% from year-ago, but decreased 0.2% month-to-month, as the index for eggs tumbled a seasonally-adjusted 8.2% from November. Compared to year-ago, the price of eggs was down 20.9%. The index for energy rose 0.3% from November and 2.3% from December a year earlier. In contrast, the price of gasoline decreased 0.5% from November and was 3.4% lower than it was in December of 2024. The cost of unleaded regular gasoline was also down 0.5% from November, but was 3.8% lower than year-ago. Electricity costs declined 0.1% in December but remained 6.7% higher than in December of 2024. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt cheered the news in a statement, noting the Pres. Trump’s reciprocal tariffs on goods from countries charging the U.S. exorbitant rates has not caused inflation to surge, as economists had predicted: “Yet another report confirms that President Trump has defeated the inflation crisis inherited from the Biden Administration, while so-called ‘experts’ continue to be proven wrong month after month. “President Trump’s powerful tariffs, massive tax cuts for working families, and sweeping deregulatory agenda have positioned our economy for a boom in 2026. Americans are already seeing the results: workers’ wages are rising rapidly, trillions in investments are flowing into the country to create good-paying jobs, and economic growth is accelerating.” …. “Core inflation came in below economists’ expectations. It’s ‘a more confident signal of cooling price growth after shutdown-related distortions’ and a ‘convincing sign that inflation is on a downward path,’ according to Bloomberg.”