WASHINGTON — U.S. inflation ticked down again last month, with cheaper gas helping further lighten the weight of consumer price increases in the United States.

At the same time, the latest data on consumer inflation showed that prices in some areas — services such as restaurants, used cars and auto insurance — continued to rise uncomfortably fast.

Tuesday’s report from the Labor Department said the consumer price index rose just 0.1% from October to November. Compared with a year earlier, prices were up 3.1% in November, down from a 3.2% year-over-year rise in October.

Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3% from October to November, slightly faster than the 0.2% increase the previous month. Measured from a year ago, core prices rose 4%, the same as in October. The Federal Reserve considers core prices to be a better guide to the future path of inflation.

The mixed picture in Tuesday’s inflation report will likely keep the Fed on track to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged when its latest meeting ends Wednesday. Inflation still exceeds the Fed’s 2% annual target, which is why its officials are set to leave rates high. But with inflation cooling faster than expected, the Fed’s policymakers likely see no cause to further raise rates, at least for now.

The Fed’s widely expected decision to keep its key rate unchanged for a third straight time suggests that it’s probably done raising borrowing costs. The central bank has raised its key rate to about 5.4%, the highest level in 22 years, in a determined drive to conquer inflation. Its rate hikes have made mortgages, auto loans, business borrowing and other forms of credit much costlier, reflecting the Fed’s goal of slowing borrowing and spending enough to tame inflation.

Helping keep a lid on inflation has been a steady decline in gas prices. From a peak of $5 about a year and a half ago, the national average has dropped to $3.15 a gallon as of Monday, according to AAA. Grocery store inflation, by contrast, has proved especially persistent and a drain on many households’ finances.

Chair Jerome Powell and other Fed officials have welcomed inflation’s steady fall from 9.1% in June 2022. But they have cautioned that the pace of price increases is still too high for the Fed to let down its guard.

As a result, even if the central bank is done raising rates, it’s expected to keep its benchmark rate at a peak for at least several more months. Powell has even warned that the Fed might decide to raise rates again if it deems it necessary to defeat high inflation. The Fed raised its key short-term rate 11 times starting in March 2022.

According to a lesser-known inflation gauge that the Fed prefers, core prices rose 3.5% in October compared with 12 months earlier. That was less than the central bank’s forecast of 3.7% for the final three months of this year.

Inflation’s steady decline has sparked speculation about interest rate cuts next year, with some economists floating the potential for cuts as early as March. The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge has increased at an annual pace of just 2.5% in the past six months.

But Powell has so far brushed aside the idea that the Fed might cut rates anytime soon. He is expected to say so again Wednesday.

“It would be premature,” Powell said earlier this month, “to speculate” on the possibility of Fed rate cuts.

Harvard University’s highest governing board released a statement Tuesday standing by President Claudine Gay amid calls from Capitol Hill seeking her removal after responses she gave at a House Education committee hearing on antisemitism.

“In this tumultuous and difficult time, we unanimously stand in support of President Gay,” the Harvard Corporation wrote in a statement. “At Harvard, we champion open discourse and academic freedom, and we are united in our strong belief that calls for violence against our students and disruptions of the classroom experience will not be tolerated.”

Gay, the board said, “is the right leader to help our community heal and to address the very serious societal issues we are facing.”

The board’s decision came after a Monday night meeting. Hundreds of faculty members have also shown support for the the embattled president, according to The Crimson, the school newspaper. The Harvard Alumni Association Executive Committee also urged the board to publicly back Gay.

The board’s support for Gay follows University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill’s decision to step down over the weekend. Republicans scorched the two college presidents, alongside Massachusetts Institute of Technology President Sally Kornbluth, at a five-hour hearing about campus antisemitism last week. Kornbluth has received similar support from her school’s governing board.

But at the hearing, Gay was arguably the focus of congressional scrutiny.

House Education and the Workforce Chair Virginia Foxx(R-N.C.) slammed Harvard as “ground zero for antisemitism” following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), a Harvard alum, called for Gay’s resignation after an adversarial line of questioning.

Gay denounced antisemitism and acknowledged that her institution has had some missteps.

“This is difficult work, and I admit that we have not always gotten it right,” she said. “As Harvard’s president, I am personally responsible for confronting antisemitism with the urgency it demands.”

But the scrutiny around Gay is mostly around her refusal to condemn calls for “Jewish genocide” as a violation of Harvard’s code of conduct.

“You are president of Harvard, so I assume you’re familiar with the term ‘Intifada,’ correct?” Stefanik asked Gay at the hearing, to which she agreed. “Then you understand that the use of the term ‘intifada,’ in the context of the Israeli-Arab conflict, is indeed a call for violent armed resistance against the State of Israel, including violence against civilians and the genocide of Jews?”

Gay responded: “That type of hateful speech is personally abhorrent to me.” She later added that the institution embraces “a commitment to free expression, even of views that are objectionable, offensive, hateful.”

More than 70 lawmakers have called on the board of trustees at Harvard to remove Gay, and about a dozen Democratic lawmakers urged the board to review its policies on bullying and harassment.

Gay has since apologized for her comments at the hearing.

“I am sorry,” Gay said in an interview with The Crimson last week. “Words matter.”

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu intends to endorse Nikki Haley for president on Tuesday night, according to a source familiar with the plans and granted anonymity to speak freely.

Sununu is scheduled to appear with Haley at a town hall on Tuesday in Manchester. His endorsement would lend a major boost to the former South Carolina governor in the first primary state.

“I look forward to joining Nikki at her town hall this evening — it’s going to be a lot of fun!” the governor said in a statement through his office, which declined to confirm the endorsement. WMUR first reported Sununu’s plans.

Sununu was previously scheduled to appear at a Massachusetts GOP fundraiser in Boston on Tuesday night, but had pulled out of the event last week.

Haley has been rising in polls of the Granite State, surging through the fall into second place behind Donald Trump. Though she remains far behind the former president there, the support of the state’s popular governor could carry significant weight with more moderate Republicans and independents who can vote in the GOP primary.

Sununu, a vocal Trump critic, now appears to be encouraging like-minded voters to coalesce behind Haley. Over the past few months, he’s lauded her foreign policy credentials as a former ambassador to the United Nations. And he’s praised her dedication to retail politics in a state where voters have historically demanded one-on-one interactions with potential presidents.

“Nikki’s done a great job. She’s been really pounding the pavement in terms of going to various parts of the state, talking to folks, letting them ask her questions,” Sununu told reporters shortly before Thanksgiving. “Her message seems to resonate.”

Haley made no secret of how crucial she felt Sununu’s support could be to her campaign. She twice put him on the spot — in a joking manner — for his endorsement during a day of campaigning together in November.

Sununu — who chose Haley over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — has pledged to put “110 percent” behind his chosen candidate in the run-up to the state’s Jan. 23 primary. In endorsing Haley, Sununu is also breaking with fellow early state Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, who is supporting DeSantis.

New Hampshire has become increasingly important to Haley’s campaign, as recent Iowa polls show her stuck in third place behind DeSantis and Trump. A strong showing in New Hampshire, could give her a boost heading into her home state’s primary in late February, where polls show the former president is also leading by a yawning margin.

Natalie Allison and Sally Goldenberg contributed to this report.