Consumer Prices Increase 0.2% in December

Click here to write a Letter to the Editor.

onsumer prices rose 0.2% in December, the Labor Department said Thursday, which analysts said showed that increased competition is keeping retailers from raising prices.

The consumer price index, which had declined 0.2% in November, is the government's broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the index covers prices consumers pay for services.

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

The so-called core index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, climbed 0.1% after dropping 0.1%. For the full year, the core index rose 1.1%, the smallest gain since 1% in 1960.

Consumer prices for all goods and services increased 1.9% for the 12 months that ended last month, compared with a 1.8% increase through November. The full-year rise was the smallest since 1.6% in 2001.

Economists had projected a 0.2% increase in the consumer price index after a previously reported decline of 0.2% for November, Bloomberg reported.

Energy prices climbed 0.2% in December after falling 3% a month earlier. Gasoline prices fell 0.1%.

Labor also said New vehicle prices dropped 0.4% percent last month, the same as in November, while food prices, which account for about a fifth of the index, climbed 0.6% in December.