The Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% in December, the biggest increase since August, largely because of rising gasoline prices, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported.
Details: The increase "was driven by an 8.4% increase in the gasoline index, which accounted for more than 60% of the overall increase," BLS said.
- The core index, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.1% for the month after rising 0.2% in the previous month.
Yes, but: For the year, CPI rose just 1.4% for the 12 months ending December, a slightly larger increase than the 1.2% rise in November.
- That was slightly more than expected but still well below the Fed's 2% inflation target. (The Fed also prefers to track the personal consumption expenditures metric, which has historically shown lower readings than CPI.)