Consumer Price Index Increases in September

The consumer price index rose 0.2% in September, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The increase followed a 0.4% increase in August.

The so-called core CPI, which excludes food and energy, also rose 0.2%, Labor said.

The reading of the CPI, the government’s main gauge of inflation, matched economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

The CPI is the government’s broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services.

If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.