A key measure of U.S. wholesale inflation posted a small increase in November and probably added the final nail in the coffin in favor of a widely expected reduction in interest rates next week.

Inflation is moving in the wrong direction. U.S. inflation picked up for a second straight month in November on a rise in food and gasoline prices, underscoring that the final stretch of the Federal Reserve's two-year battle against sharply rising prices has become more challenging.

Based in New York, Katherine graduated summa cum laude from Colgate University with a bachelor's degree in English literature. Two data points are key for the Fed to cut interest rates by 0.25% next week at its final policy meeting of the year: slowing inflation and a weakening labor market.