The final inflation report of 2025 could offer consumers and the Fed a clearer picture of how much prices climbed in December.

The December CPI reading caps a year when many Americans felt squeezed by affordability pressures.

Inflation in 2025 ended neither as a crisis nor as a clean victory. The headline numbers finally look close to what central bankers call normal, yet the lived experience of prices for rent, groceries and other essentials still feels punishing for many households.

Food inflation has been relatively moderate though in recent years compared with the steep rise in grocery costs in 2022. The surge in prices at the time was largely the result of a mix of supply and demand pressures, many tied to the pandemic and other global events.

While inflation remained well below the highs reached in 2022 and 2023, it also proved more stubborn than many forecasters expected in 2025.

In looking at Trump’s economic job approval, in January it’s at 40-54 (approve-disapprove), up from 37-56 in November. Among independents, it is 32-58, up from 28-64 in November. His inflation job approval is at 37-56, up from 33-59 in November. Among independents, it is at 27-60, up from 23-68 in November.