WASHINGTON - April 15, 2011 – U.S. consumers paid more for food, gas and rent last month, but outside those categories inflation remained tame.
The Labor Department says the Consumer Price Index rose 0.5% in March. That matched February's increase, the largest since June 2009. In the past 12 months, the index has increased 2.7%, the biggest rise since December 2009.
Outside volatile food and gas, the so-called core index rose 0.1%. Economists monitor core prices to get a sense of broader inflation trends.
In the past 12 months, core prices rose 1.2%, up from the 0.6% pace recorded last October. Still, the March increase is well below the 10-year average of 1.9%.
