Washington, September 16--The consumer-price index rose 0.1% in August, reversing a 0.1% decline in July, the Labor Department said Thursday. The core index -- which excludes food and energy items -- also rose 0.1%, matching the pace in July.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and CNBC had called for a 0.2% gain in the overall index and a 0.2% increase in the core index
The report showed that inflation subsided on a year-to-date basis. In the first eight months of the year, the index was up 3.7%, down from a 4.1% rate through July. Excluding food and energy items, the index was up 2.2%, down from 2.4% rate through July.
Housing prices, which account for 40% of the index, rose 0.2% in August, the same rate as in July. Food prices rose 0.1%, moderating from a 0.3% rate in July. Dairy prices, which had surged earlier this year, fell 1.8% in the biggest decline in more than five years.
Energy prices fell for a second month in a row, dropping 0.3%. Gasoline prices fell 1.4%, a smaller decline than the 4.2% drop recorded in July. But fuel-oil prices rose 5.2% in the biggest gain since January.
Medical-care prices rose 0.2%, moderating from a 0.3% increase in July. Prices of hospital and related services declined 0.4%, marking the first drop in that category since January 1998. Prices of prescription drugs, however, rose 0.2%.
