Washington, DC, August 16--The consumer prices index rose 0.5% in July, according to the Labor Department. The core index, which excludes food and energy increased 0.2%.
The increase was slightly ahead of analyst’s expectations for a gain of 0.4%. The core CPI met expectations.
The increases in the CPI and the core CPI were the highest since April. The CPI has risen 3.2% in the past year, up from 2.5% year-over-year in June. The year-over-year gain in the core rate ticked a tenth of a percent higher to 2.1% in July.
Overall energy prices rose 3.8%, the biggest increase in three months. In a month when crude-oil prices averaged a record $59 a barrel, gasoline prices climbed 6.1%, also marking the biggest increase in three months. Natural-gas prices rose 3.8%.
Food prices also rose at the fastest pace in three months, climbing 0.2%. Housing prices rose 0.4%, marking the biggest increase since March. Medical care prices rose 0.4%, also the biggest increase since March. But prices of new automobiles registered the biggest decline in more than 30 years, falling 1%.
