US consumers may have to live with high prices for longer — and a falling US dollar could be to blame
US consumers are getting used to being pleasantly surprised by cooling prices each month, with inflation extending a sustained decline thanks to the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate hikes. Annual increases in the Consumer Price Index slowed to 6.5% in December, the least in over a year, as disruptions to global goods supply chains caused by COVID-19 eased. But the welcome relief on the prices front is now facing a new threat — in the form of a falling dollar. The greenback is extending losses in January, after sliding almost 8% last quarter in the worst three-month slump in over 12 years. A weaker dollar raises the
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