Usman Salis
⬤ U.S. inflation kept sliding in January, with Truflation's real-time tracker showing just a 1.21% year-over-year increase as of January 22. That's way below the latest official numbers and shows prices are cooling off fast. The reading suggests inflation has dropped quicker than the Fed expected, which is making people question whether current interest rates still make sense.
⬤ Truflation's index is tracking well under the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest CPI reading of 2.7%. The numbers have been falling steadily for months, now sitting at the lowest point in a year. It's a sharp drop from the 2.5%+ levels we saw earlier, showing that price pressures are easing across most consumer categories.
The latest Truflation reading reinforces concerns that inflation has fallen faster than policymakers anticipated.
⬤ This inflation drop is sparking serious debate about Fed policy. With inflation this low—close to levels usually linked with economic slowdowns—critics say keeping rates high could actually make things worse by pushing toward deflation. The gap between Truflation's real-time data and official CPI numbers has people wondering if traditional measures are missing what's really happening right now.
⬤ These inflation numbers matter because they drive what happens next with interest rates, economic growth, and market conditions. When inflation stays this low, companies struggle to raise prices, profit margins get squeezed, and it signals demand is weakening. As inflation keeps falling, the Fed is under growing pressure to figure out if its current approach still fits what's actually going on in the economy.
Usman Salis
