CPI (Dec) was 0.4% (forecast 0.3%)

CPI year over year 2.9% (forecast 2.9%)

 Core CPI (Dec) was 0.2% (forecast 0.3%)

Core CPI year over year 3.2% (forecast 3.3%)

The Core CPI has traditionally been viewed as a more important indicator than the headline CPI, primarily due to its exclusion of volatile food and energy prices, which can distort underlying inflation trends. Additionally, monthly data tends to carry more weight than annual figures, as the latter are already largely known, with 11 months of data already in hand. However, the market seemed to overlook the 0.4% CPI increase in December, possibly driven by short covering. In my view, this suggests that the U.S. economy is not yet fully out of the woods. It's premature to assume a clear path forward just because one optimistic outlier has emerged on the horizon.

That said, I’m not particularly dissatisfied with the outcome, as my portfolio saw gains overnight, regardless of whether the focus was on the Core CPI or not.