Cashiers process purchases at a Walmart Supercenter in North Bergen, N.J., on Thursday, Feb. 9, 2023. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reports on U.S. consumer prices for January. The consumer price index is closely watched by the Federal Reserve, which has raised interest rates eight times in the past year in an attempt to cool the economy and bring down inflation. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The pace of consumer price increases eased again in January compared with a year earlier, the latest sign that the high inflation that has gripped Americans for nearly two years is slowing. At the same time, Tuesday’s consumer price report showed that inflationary pressures in the U.S. economy remain stubborn and are likely to fuel price spikes well into this year. Consumer prices rose 6.4% in January from 12 months earlier, down from 6.5% in December. It was the seventh straight year-over-year slowdown and well below a recent peak of 9.1% in June. On a monthly basis, though, consumer prices increased 0.5% from December to January, much higher than the 0.1% rise from November to December.