WASHINGTON (AP) — An inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve rose slightly last month, the latest sign that some consumer prices remain stubbornly elevated, even as inflation is cooling in fits and starts.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesday that he continues to look at the overall progress that inflation has made in moving back toward the central bank’s 2% target. While the bank’s latest statement did leave out a December reference to strides made in the fight against inflation,

President Donald Trump wasted no time criticizing the Federal Reserve after it held interest rates steady Wednesday, posting a message to his social media platform Wednesday afternoon arguing Fed chair Jerome Powell and the central bank "failed to stop the problem they created" on inflation.

After three cuts at the end of last year, Federal Reserve officials paused rate moves as they weigh a solid economy and rising inflation risks. Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said the central bank was not on a “pre-set course.

The Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged as officials grappled with uncertainty caused by inflation and President Trump's plans.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said “we do not need to be in a hurry to adjust our policy stance” and monetary policy is “well positioned” for the challenges at hand.

Solid results from Apple are buoying spirits, as investors brace for PCE inflation and weigh Trump's renewed tariff threat.

Fresh tariffs amid high inflation are making the Fed’s job uniquely difficult and feeding uncertainty about what to expect for interest rates this year.

Trump said Powell and the Fed "failed to stop the problem they created with inflation" in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday.

“The Fed’s prognosis is for a slower pace of monetary easing moving forward, as the economy is doing well and prices are only slowly returning to target in an environment of great uncertainty,” said Carl Weinberg, chief economist at High Frequency Economics. “These data support that strategy.”

The numbers: Wages and benefits for American workers accelerated in the fourth quarter. The employment-cost index (ECI) increased 0.9% from October to December, the government said Friday. That's up slightly from a 0.8% gain in the prior quarter, which was the slowest quarterly increase in three years.