Consumer Price Index Rises 0.5% in July

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

rices paid by consumers rose 0.5% in July, while the so-called "core" consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1% for a third month, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Analysts had predicted a 0.4% rise in the CPI and a 0.2% gain in the core rate, Bloomberg reported.

The July increase followed no change in June and a 0.1% rise in the core rate.

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 falling, it could reflect a decrease in demand for consumer goods, which decreases the demand for trucking services.

Year-over-year core prices rose 2.1%, up from a 2% increase in June, Labor said.

Consumer prices are rising at an annual 3.5% rate this year, compared with 3.9% at the same time last year, Bloomberg reported. Core prices are rising at a 2.2% annual pace, down from a 2.3% rate in the first 7 months of 2004.

Energy prices rose 3.8% in July, after falling 0.5% a month earlier. Gasoline prices increased 6.1% for the month.

Food prices, which account for about one-fifth of the index, rose 0.2% in July, holding steady a month earlier.

The cost of all goods including cars, apparel and food increased 0.6% last month after falling 0.2% in June.