WASHINGTON, Jan 12 Reuters U.S consumer prices unexpectedly fell for the first time in more than 212 years in December amid declining prices for gasoline and other goods, suggesting that inflation was now on a sustained downward trend.

The consumer price index dipped 0.1 last month after gaining 0.1 in November, the Labor Department said on Thursday. That was the first decline in the CPI since May 2020, when the economy was reeling from the first wave of COVID19 infections.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI unchanged.

In the 12 months through December, the CPI increased 6.5. That was the smallest rise since October 2021 and followed a 7.1 advance in November. The annual CPI peaked at 9.1 in June, which was the biggest increase since November 1981. Inflation remains well above the Federal Reserve39;s 2 target.

Price pressures are subsiding as the U.S. central bank39;s fastest monetary policy tightening cycle since the 1980s dampens demand, and bottlenecks in the supply chains ease.

Gasoline prices fell 12.5 in December, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Prices for used cars and trucks are also declining as the supply of motor vehicles improves. Ebbing demand has left retailers holding excess merchandise, forcing them to offer discounts for products like apparel and furniture.

While goods disinflation has set in, services prices remain solid, underpinned by sticky rents. Even stripping out rents, services inflation is…