Steady U.S. price gains in January masked shifts below the surface that Federal Reserve officials may ultimately find unfavorable in their quest to bring inflation back up to their 2 percent target.
Procyclical inflation—a measure containing the prices of goods and services that typically rise faster when employment is increasing—decelerated last month to the lowest level on an annual basis since April 2014, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News from Commerce Department figures published Thursday.