The cost of living in the U.S. rose more than forecast in October as Americans paid more for fuel, while so-called core prices held at a pace that supports the Federal Reserve’s forecast for tame inflation.
The 0.3% rise in the consumer-price index followed a 0.2% increase in September, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington. Excluding food and energy costs, the core index rose 0.2% for a second month.
Economists forecast the consumer price index would rise 0.2%, according to the median of 78 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from a decline of 0.2% to a rise of 0.5%.
The core index was forecast to rise 0.1%, according to the Bloomberg survey.
U.S. stock-index futures erased gains after the Commerce Department said housing starts unexpectedly plunged 11% last month to the lowest level since April. Futures on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index were down 0.1% to 1,106.0 at 9:02 a.m. after rising as much as 0.3%.
Compared with a year earlier, consumer prices were down 0.2%. Core prices rose 1.7 percent from October 2008 after a 1.5 percent year-over-year gain in September.
Energy costs increased 1.5% in October, led by fuel oil and gasoline.
The year-over-year declines in the consumer price index are getting smaller as crude oil prices increase from an almost five-year low in December 2008.
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