The December inflation according to the CPI measure came in as expected. Analysts had counted on a CPI inflation of 2.9 percent in December, according to a compilation of forecasts made by Bloomberg.
But the so-called core inflation, excluding energy and food prices, unexpectedly fell to 3.2 percent. This can be compared to 3.3 percent in November and an average forecast of 3.3 percent.
This pleased the market and pushed up the indices on Wall Street in futures trading ahead of Wednesday's stock market opening.
The inflation report comes after an unexpectedly strong job figure from the USA last Friday – which has contributed to pushing up long-term market rates in both the USA and the rest of the world, which in turn has reduced risk appetite on stock exchanges around the world.
In the bond market, long-term rates are being pushed down after the unexpectedly weak core inflation.
