Underlying US price pressures probably continued to recede as 2023 drew to a close, backing up optimism at the Federal Reserve about the path for inflation. The consumer price index excluding food and fuel, a measure favoured by economists as a better indicator of underlying inflation, was 3.8 per cent in the year to December. That would mark the smallest annual advance since May 2021, and illustrates the progress the Fed has made on squelching inflation that clocked in at the fastest pace in 40 years during 2022. While price growth is still above the central bank’s goal, the latest readout from officials’ December meeting showed…
