The rocky path of getting inflation back to the U.S. Federal Reserve's 2% target rate reflected in the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures means that it would likely be too soon for the central bank to cut its policy rate in March, Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester said on Thursday.

Global economic growth will remain "resilient" this year after a stronger-than-expected 2023, the International Monetary Fund said on Thursday, but work is needed to boost global growth rates above an anemic 3% range in the medium term.

The U.S. federal government posted a December deficit of $129 billion, up $44 billion or 52% from a year earlier as outlays rose while receipts fell from December 2022 levels that were swelled by pandemic-deferred tax payments, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Thursday.

U.S. Federal Reserve officials took little fresh signal from consumer price data published on Thursday as they gauge whether inflation is headed firmly enough back to the central bank's 2% target to allow them to reduce interest rates in coming months.

The dollar held steady against peer currencies on Friday, as investors weighed higher-than-expected U.S. consumer price inflation against market bets that the Federal Reserve will cut rates as soon as March.

Asian shares were cautious on Friday as the escalating conflict in the Red Sea region sent oil prices surging, while slightly higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data did not dent investors' views on early and aggressive rate cuts in the U.S. and Europe.