The Labor Department released the inflation report for December which showed prices were up 2.9% from a year ago, in line with economists expectations and up from 2.7% in November.

Annual inflation ticked up for a third straight month in December as food, energy costs rose, CPI report showed. But underlying price measure eased.

U.S. consumer prices increased slightly more than expected in December amid higher costs for energy goods, pointing to still elevated inflation that aligns with the Federal Reserve's projections for fewer interest rate cuts this year.

However, excluding food and energy, the core CPI annual rate was 3.2%, a notch down from the month before and slightly better than the 3.3% forecast. The core measure rose 0.2% on a monthly basis, also 0.1 percentage point less than expected.

Wholesale prices rose less than expected in December, a positive sign for the economy amid recent market fears that inflation isn't falling as quickly as hoped to the Federal Reserve's 2% target.

The increase in the consumer price index is unhelpful for President-elect Donald Trump, who will soon inherit the economy from President Joe Biden.

Consumer inflation data came in slightly hotter than expected in December. Consumer prices were up 2.9% for the 12 months ended in December as compared to 2.7% in November, according to the latest Consumer Price Index data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.