US President Donald Trump's approval rating ticked up by a few points in the latest poll released on Tuesday, recovering from 38%, the lowest it has been since he took office for a second time in January.
The latest Reuters/Ipsos poll, which concluded on Monday, reported a three point increase in Trump's approval rating, from 38% on 18 November to 41%.
The most recent poll interviewed 4,434 adults across the US, and reported a margin of error of two percentage points in either direction.
Trump's disapproval rate, meanwhile was reported to be 57% in the latest poll.
The US President had begun his second term with an approval rating of 47%, but that had dipped considerably by November, on the back poor performance in state elections by Republicans and a persistent attack on the Trump administration by the Democrats on the issue of inflation.
So what's behind the uptick in Trump's approval?
The latest poll found that Trump performed relatively better on the issue of cost of living, where he got a 31% approval rating, up from 26% in the 18 November poll.
This overall boost to his approval rating with regard to the issue of cost of living was largely boosted by Republicans' improving views about his handling of the economy.
Reuters reported that Trump, in the latest poll, got a 10 percentage point gain among Republicans on the issue of cost of living, with 69% of GOP members now rating him favourably.
Republicans' views of the President improved overall as well, up to 85% in the latest poll from 82% last month.
Reuters further said that the latest uptick in Trump's popularity was in part fuelled by a small increase in his approval ratings among Hispanics—approval for Trump within the ethnic group improved to 34% in the latest poll, up from 32% in late November.
Despite the uptick in Trump's approval rating, especially with regard to the issue of cost of living, price rise remains a sticky problem for the US President, with inflation reported at 3% in the 12 months through September, a percentage point above the historical norm of around 2%.
Yet, Trump has thus far diregarded the Democratic Party's focus on the issue, even describing it as a "hoax".
With debate raging over the issue of inflation, Trump is also set to give a speech on Tuesday on economic issues, particularly affordability, in Pennsylvania, a battleground state.
