Surging energy costs pushed US consumer prices up in January, suggesting inflation jitters may lead the Federal Reserve to act cautiously when cutting interest rates next month.
The Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation in the United States, rose 0.6 per cent last month, the largest gain since March 1999, when prices rose a matching 0.6 per cent.
Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, the closely watched core rate rose 0.3 per cent in January after inching up 0.1 per cent in December.
The numbers were above analysts' expectations. Before the report was released they had estimated consumer prices rose 0.3 per cent and core prices were up 0.2 per cent last month.
