In January, inflation in the US rose by 0.6% month on month after registering a 0.2% increase in December, according to a Commerce Department report released Friday. Prices rose by 5.4% annually, an increase over December’s 5.3% rise.

The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures price index, increased by 5.4% year over year. Core inflation, excluding the more volatile measures of food and energy, rose 4.7% over a year prior.

January’s inflation readings exceeded analyst expectations, demolishing hopes of the Fed easing its campaign of aggressive interest rate hikes. The central bank has imposed eight rate hikes to its key rate since last March, as it has sought to rein in a stubbornly resilient inflation.

Just this week policymakers indicated that the inflation was proving more entrenched than had been thought, due to a complex set of circumstances, and it was likely it would not decelerate in the short-term.

Bloomberg reported that in remarks for a panel, Governor Philip Jefferson said, “The inflationary forces impinging on the US economy at present represent a complex mixture of temporary and more long-lasting elements that defy simple, parsimonious explanation.:

He continued, “The ongoing imbalance between the supply and demand for labor, combined with the large share of labor costs in the services sector, suggests that high inflation may come down only slowly.”