GRAPHIC-The pain points and bright spots in a patchy US inflation report

By Dan Burns

Dec 18 (Reuters) - The long-delayed Consumer Price Index report for November offered some early holiday cheer for a Trump administration feeling the heat from Americans over high and climbing prices.

Housing costs were up by the smallest margin in four years and food costs rose by the least since February. Egg prices - a subject President Donald Trump raises regularly - fell for a second month, and by the most in 20 months.

But there were ongoing sore spots that indicate the affordability issue is far from done and dusted heading into 2026 and midterm elections.

Here are some of the highlights:

HOUSING

Shelter costs are a big chunk of the average household budget and have been slow to ease up, propping up overall inflation for some time now. But housing cost inflation moderated notably in November and is now climbing at the slowest rate in about four years.

FOOD

Consumers are quick to react to food price inflation because they shop at the grocery store several times a week on average and witness in real time the swiftness of price changes. Earlier this year food prices were rising at the fastest pace since 2023, but food inflation overall eased last month to the slowest in nine months.

EGGS

Emblematic of the overall drop in food inflation was an outright drop in egg prices. After climbing at steep rates for much of the year, they plunged more than 13% in November.

BEEF

Not all food cost increases are moderating, however, and beef stands out as an example where inflation remains starkly evident. Beef prices were up nearly 16% year over year in November, the most in about three-and-a-half years.

COFFEE

Coffee prices, too, continue to rocket higher. They were up by nearly 20% from a year earlier in November.

ELECTRICITY

A lot of people have taken note of how keeping the home lights on is costing more and more, and that was again evident in November. Electric utility bills were almost 7% higher than a year earlier in November, and with more and more power being consumed by data centers for artificial intelligence investments, they are not likely to moderate anytime soon.

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(Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Andrea Ricci)