The Labor Department released the inflation report for December, which showed prices were up 2.9% from a year ago, in line with economists expectations and up from 2.7% in November.

The Consumer Price Index rose 2.9 percent from a year earlier, but a measure of underlying inflation was more encouraging.

The December inflation report shows that inflation rose by 0.4% month over month and 2.9% year over year. NBC News' Brian Cheung and Editor-in-Chief at Investopedia Caleb Silver break down the latest economic data.