WASHINGTON — Consumer prices rose more slowly than economists expected in November, edging up 0.1%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.
Core consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, also rose 0.1% to post their first increase since July. Economists expected a 0.2% gain in consumer prices and a 0.1% increase in core prices.
Core prices for the 12-month period ending in November expanded 0.8%. That compares with the 0.6% annual increase for the 12 months ended October, which was the smallest gain on record.
October's consumer prices rose 0.2%, while the core was flat in the month.
"Core inflation rose an anemic 0.8% from a year ago, still less than half the Fed's implicit 2% target for core inflation," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. "The prospects for next year do look better than they were for this year. But inflation is still more of a three-to-five-year threat, which means that bond yields may have risen too rapidly in recent weeks."
