NEW YORK: US interest rates futures were steady to a tad lower on Tuesday as in-line increases on domestic consumer prices last month supported bets the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates at its Dec. 15-16 policy meeting.

The US Labor Department said the consumer price index rose 0.2 percent in October, matching the median forecast among economists polled by Reuters.

The core CPI rate, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, was up 1.9 percent on a year-over-year basis, which is just short of the Fed's 2 percent inflation goal.

Prices on the federal funds contract for December delivery was unchanged on the day at 99.79, implying traders see a 70 percent chance of a December rate increase, compared with 68 percent at Monday's close.

Copyright Reuters, 2015