2017.12.1322:50:00UTC+00U.S. Core Inflation Weakens in November

U.S. consumer inflation softened in November, weighed down by the weak healthcare prices and the biggest decline in apparel prices in almost 20 years, which is seen to influence the clip at which the Federal Reserve hike interest rates next year.

The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index, which excludes the volatile prices of food and energy, edged up by 0.1 percent also as cost for airline fares and household furnishing decline. The so-called core CPI rose 0.2 percent in October.

Given the figures, the annual gain in the core CPI declined to 1.7 percent in November from the 1.8 percent increase in October.

The U.S. central bank has a two percent inflation target. The Fed's preferred measure of inflation, the core personal consumption expenditures price index, has consistently remained below its goal for almost five and a half years.

The overall CPI rose 0.4 percent in November after rising 0.1 percent in October. This lifted the year-on-year gain in the CPI to 2.2 percent from 2.0 in October.

Prices for U.S. bonds climbed on the core CPI data and the Fed's interest rate decision, while the dollar weakened against a basket of currencies, while U.S. stocks traded higher.