CPI Increases 0.5% In March

CPI Increases 0.5% In March



Apr 15, 2011

The consumer-price index increased 0.5% in March, led by increases in food and fuel costs, according to the Labor Department. The report was in-line with what economists had expected.

Core CPI, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, rose 0.1% in the month, less than the 0.2% economists had forecast.

The index has now increased 2.7% in the past 12 months, the biggest year-over-year increase since December of 2009. Core CPI has risen 1.2% in that time frame.

As recently as October, the year-over-year gain was just 0.6%, the smallest rate of price increase since records began in 1958.

Energy costs increased 3.5% from a month earlier, the most since December, while gasoline prices jumped 5.6%.

Rising prices have caused economists to lower their forecasts for inflation adjusted consumer spending, which increased at a 2% annual rate in Q1, compared to a 4% gain in the fourth quarter of 2010.