Despite the cooling down of inflation, the Fed indicated that it would continue raising interest rates this year until the 2% target is achieved. Weak economic statistics and hawkish remarks from Fed officials added to recession fears. Retail sales in the United States declined 1.1% last month, and factory production dropped for the first time since June by 0.6%.
However, the fact that inflation fell for the sixth straight month in December has fueled expectations that the Federal Reserve would soon be able to terminate the cycle of aggressive interest-rate hikes.
