ECRI Inflation Gauge Drops To 117.1 in December

U.S. inflationary pressures decreased in December as the U.S. future inflation gauge fell to 117.1 from a revised 119.8 in November, originally reported as 119.7, according to data released Friday by the Economic Cycle Research Institute. The smoothed annualized growth rate, a comparison of the latest figures to the preceding year’s average level, decreased to negative 4.6% from negative 0.7%.The December decrease was driven by disinflationary moves in measures of commodity prices, loans, jobs, and interest rates, partly offset by an inflationary move in measures of vendor performance, ECRI said. “With the USFIG falling to a 31-month low, inflation pressures should not be a serious concern,” ECRI said in a release.