Scott Horsley

The discount retailer has been thriving in a period when many shoppers are looking for ways to cut corners.

This will be Walmart's first quarterly report since John Ferner took over as CEO.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

The latest cost of living index from the Labor Department shows prices rose more slowly in January than they did the months before.

Rising rents and grocery prices last month were partially offset by the falling price of gasoline.

Gasoline prices have tumbled 7.5 percent over the last year.

But the price of electricity and natural gas has jumped sharply.

Grocery prices in January were up 2.1 percent from a year ago.

Airfares also got more expensive last month, while used cars and trucks got cheaper.

Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, core inflation in January was 2.5 percent.

That's also a smaller annual increase than the months before.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Consumer prices in January were up 2.4 percent from a year ago.

That's a smaller annual increase than the previous month and slightly lower inflation than forecasters were expecting.

Prices rose just two-tenths of a percent between December and January.

Falling gasoline prices during the month helped to offset some of the increase in rents and grocery prices.

Although inflation has been cooling, prices are still climbing faster than the Federal Reserve would like.

The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady when policymakers meet next month, but the odds of a rate cut at the following meeting in late April have increased slightly.

Scott Horsley, NPR News, Washington.

Consumer prices in January were up 2.4 percent from a year ago.