Washington | Growth in US inflation slowed to its lowest level in more than a year, giving the Federal Reserve more room to ease the pace of interest rate rises and deliver an against-the-odds soft economic landing.

The headline consumer price index fell 0.1 per cent in December from November, driven by a 4.5 per cent drop in energy prices, and bringing the headline rate down to 6.5 per cent year-over-year from 7.1 per cent in line with economists’ expectations.