Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the U.S. fell in November from a month earlier, while prices excluding food and energy costs inched up modestly, according to data released on Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported that consumer prices fell 0.3% last month, compared to estimates for a decline of 0.1%, after a flat reading in October.
Consumer prices were 1.3% higher on a year-over-year basis, above expectations for a 1.4% reading after a 1.7% increase in October.
Core consumer inflation, which strips out food and energy costs, was up 0.1% from a month earlier and rose at an annual rate of 1.7%. Economists had forecast a monthly increase of 0.1% and an annual gain of 1.8%.
Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The central bank usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less.
USD/JPY was trading at 117.09 from around 117.14 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/USD was at 1.2466 from 1.2457 earlier.
U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 0.44% at the open, the S&P 500 futures were up 0.57%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures rose 0.52%.