JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Inflation didn't get any worse last month, but it didn't get any better either. Prices continue to climb faster than most people would like. And the news comes as the Federal Reserve is preparing to vote on interest rates in a couple of weeks. NPR's Scott Horsley joins us now. Hi there.
SCOTT HORSLEY, BYLINE: Hi, Juana.
SUMMERS: Scott, what does today's report tell us about the cost of living?
HORSLEY: It tells us that consumer prices in December were up 2.7% from a year ago. That's the same annual increase we saw the previous month, so inflation remains stubbornly high. Some things are getting cheaper, notably gasoline, which is good news for drivers. But, you know, grocery prices are up again and utility bills are way up. Mark Wolfe heads a group of state offices that help low-income families with their utility bills. He says the rising price of electricity and natural gas this winter is becoming a real strain on a lot of family budgets.
MARK WOLFE: If you asked a family two years ago, what was your electric bill last year, they wouldn't know. Now people are remembering it. They're talking about it. It's bothering them. And I think that's another factor that's kind of eating away at this. Like, why are these bills so high?
HORSLEY: Natural gas prices are up more than 10% over the last year, and that's partly because we're exporting more natural gas. That raises heating bills. And of course, we use a lot of natural gas to generate electricity too, so that's another factor pushing up those prices.
SUMMERS: President Trump traveled to Detroit today in an effort to promote his economic record. What did he have to say?
HORSLEY: Yeah, the president gave a campaign-style speech this afternoon in which he boasted that the economy is doing great. And to be sure, there are some real signs of strength. But, you know, polls show a lot of people are feeling grumpy about their personal economic situation, and they may not be sold by a sales message like Trump's, which was filled with the president's trademark hyperbole.
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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Under our administration, growth is exploding, productivity is soaring, investment is booming, incomes are rising. Inflation is defeated. America is respected again like never before. And other than that, we're not doing that well.
HORSLEY: You know, GDP growth was quite strong in the summer and early fall, and the stock market has been hitting record highs. But there's nothing in today's report that suggests inflation has been defeated. It is better than it was a few years ago, but prices are climbing faster now than they were last spring before the president ordered his worldwide tariffs.
SUMMERS: And given that stubborn inflation, what's the Fed likely to do about interest rates?
HORSLEY: You know, the president's been outspoken in demanding that the Fed lower interest rates. He's gone to great lengths to push the central bank in that direction. He's threatened to fire Fed Chairman Jerome Powell. This weekend, we learned the Justice Department has launched an investigation of the Fed, but Powell and his colleagues say they won't be intimidated, and they do have some allies in the financial world. Jamie Dimon, who heads the nation's biggest bank, JPMorgan Chase, came out today and said all this White House effort to steer the central bank could actually backfire.
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JAMIE DIMON: Everyone we know believes in Fed independence. Anything that chips away at that is probably not a great idea.
HORSLEY: Dimon says, if people come to feel the Fed is under the thumb of the White House, they will expect higher inflation and ultimately higher interest rates. Now, the Fed did cut rates at its last three meetings in an effort to prop up the sagging job market, but with inflation still elevated, most forecasters think the Fed is going to hold rates steady when policymakers meet in a couple of weeks.
SUMMERS: NPR's Scott Horsley, thank you.
HORSLEY: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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