Live news: US stocks slip as inflation data disappoints traders

Argentina’s annual inflation rate reached 211.4 per cent in December following the inauguration of libertarian President Javier Milei, confirming the depth of the economic crisis embroiling the country.

Prices rose 25.5 per cent on average in December, the country’s statistics agency said on Thursday, compared to a 12.8 per cent increase in November. The rate is the worst since 1991, when Argentina was exiting a period of hyperinflation. 

Argentina’s chronically high inflation stems largely from previous governments’ reliance on money printing to finance spending, a practice Milei railed against on the campaign trail. But price pressures intensified, particularly for food and fuel, as Milei devalued the peso’s artificially high official exchange rate and allowed price fixing agreements to lapse.