Consumer Prices Barely Budge in November

Washington, DC, Dec. 15, 2010 — Consumer prices edged higher by 0.1% in November, as prices for food and energy gained, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

Led by increases for shelter and airline fares, the core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.1%, for its first gain since July.

Economists had expected the overall and core gauges of inflation to each rise 0.1%. In the past year, the overall CPI has increased 1.1%, below the Federal Reserve’s target of about 1.6% to 2%.