CHEAPER GAS SENDS U.S. CONSUMER PRICES DOWN 0.1%

Consumer prices slipped 0.1 per cent in the U.S. last month, pulled down by sharply lower gasoline prices and cheaper air fares, used cars, and mobile phone plans. The consumer price index rose just 1.9 per cent in December from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, the first time it has fallen below two per cent since August 2017. Excluding the volatile energy and food categories, core prices rose 0.2 per cent for the third month in a row. They rose 2.2 per cent from a year ago for the second-straight month. The figures suggest that the healthy economy is not yet creating widespread inflation pressures. That gives the Federal Reserve more leeway in deciding whether to raise short-term interest rates. Fed chair Jerome Powell has said the Fed can be “patient” regarding rate hikes this year.