Consumer Prices Rise 0.3% in June; Core Up 0.1%

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rices paid by consumers rose 0.3% in June, while prices excluding food and energy rose the least since December, the Labor Department reported Friday.

June's gain in the consumer price index followed a 0.6% rise in May. The core index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.1% after rising 0.2% the month before.

The consumer price index 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 rising, it could reflect an uptick in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.

Federal Reserve policy makers have said the pace of inflation would help determine how quickly they raise interest rates, Bloomberg said. On Thursday, Labor said producer prices fell 0.3% in June, the biggest drop in a year.

Core prices were 1.9% higher in June than a year earlier, the biggest year-over-increase since January 2003. Last year, the core index rose 1.1%, the smallest yearly gain since 1960.

Energy prices rose 2.6% in June after a 4.6% increase a month earlier. Food prices, which account for about a fifth of the index, rose 0.2%.

Prices for services, such transportation, rose 0.3%, Labor said.