WASHINGTON - The consumer price index increased 0.1% in December, nudged higher by used car and truck prices, the Labor Department reported today.
Core prices, excluding food and energy costs, also increased 0.1% in December, in line with economists' estimates. A 2.5% increase in the index for used cars and trucks accounted for almost half of the increase in core prices.
Economists expected consumer prices to rise 0.2% and for core prices to rise 0.1%, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Consumer prices for the year ending in December increased 2.7%, following a 0.1% increase for 2008. A wide swing in the energy index pushed up consumers' costs. Gasoline prices rose 53.5% in 2009 after falling 43.1% in 2008.
Other price sectors indicated consumers face limited inflation pressures as the economy pulls out of the recession. The food price index fell 0.5% for the 12 months ending in December, the first annual decline since 1961. The shelter index posted the smallest annual gain since the Labor Department began recording it in 1953.
November consumer prices rose 0.4% and 1.8% for the year ending in November. It was the first positive year-over-year change since February. The core CPI was unchanged in November.
