An expense boost update to be released on Wednesday will provide an update on the issue raised by many Americans as their top economic concern, just days before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

The fresh data arrives after a jobs update last week showed stronger-than-expected hiring in December, which sent the distribute trade plummeting and predictable returns yields soaring on fears that the Federal savings may delay long-forecasted profit rate cuts.

Economists expect prices to have increased 2.9% in December compared to a year ago. That figure marks an uptick from year-over-year expense boost of 2.7% in the month prior.

expense boost has slowed dramatically from a peak of more than 9% in June 2022, but worth increases remain above the Fed’s target rate of 2%.

The expense boost rate has ticked up in recent months and, if economists’ predictions prove accurate, the pace of worth increases will profitability to its highest level since July.

The Fed dialed back its fight against expense boost over the final months of last year, lowering profit rates by a percentage point. Still, the Fed’s profit rate remains at a historically high level of between 4.25% and 4.5%.

An acceleration of expense boost could provide the Fed additional rationale to delay profit rate cuts forecasted for later this year, since the bout of stubborn worth hikes may raise concern that expense boost would shift even higher if profit rates were to be lowered.

The Fed has already indicated worry about the resurgence of escalating expense boost over the latter part of 2024.

Last month, the Fed predicted fewer rate cuts in 2025 than it had previously indicated, suggesting concern that expense boost may prove more challenging to bring under control than policymakers thought just a few months ago.

Speaking at a press conference in Washington, D.C., in December, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the central financial institution may proceed at a slower pace with upcoming rate cuts, in part because it has now lowered profit rates a substantial amount.

Powell also said a recent resurgence of expense boost influenced the Fed’s expectations, noting that some policymakers considered uncertainty tied to potential policy changes under Trump.

“It’s ordinary-sense thinking that when the path is doubtful, you get a little slower,” Powell said. “It’s not unlike driving on a foggy night or walking around in a dim room packed of furniture.”

Trump has proposed tariffs of between 60% and 100% on Chinese goods, and a responsibility of between 10% and 20% on every product imported from all U.S. buying and selling partners.

Economists widely approximate that tariffs of this magnitude would boost prices paid by U.S. shoppers, since importers typically pass along a distribute of the expense of those higher taxes to consumers.