U.S. Consumer Prices Climb Slightly More Than Expected In December
(RTTNews) - Largely reflecting a surge by energy prices, the Labor Department released a report on Wednesday showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly more than expected in the month of December.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.4 percent in December after rising by 0.3 percent in November. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by another 0.3 percent.
The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer prices accelerated to 2.9 percent in December from 2.7 percent in November, in line with economist estimates.
Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, edged up by 0.2 percent in December after increasing by 0.3 percent for four straight months. The uptick matched expectations.
The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices slowed to 3.2 percent in December from 3.3 percent in November, while economists had expected yearly growth to remain unchanged.