US consumer prices climbed in January for the first time since September as energy costs rose, the US government said today in a report implying that a gradually recovering economy could nudge prices higher.
The Consumer Price Index, the most widely used gauge for measuring inflation, gained by 0.2 per cent last month, slightly below Wall Street economists' forecasts for a 0.3 per cent gain.
Excluding food and energy, the so-called core rate of prices was ahead 0.2 per cent last month after a 0.1 per cent rise in December.
The rate of price rises remains relatively muted. But with most economists predicting an economic recovery this year from recession that set in last March, any pickup in prices will be closely watched and raises the likelihood that the aggressive interest-rate cutting campaign practiced by the Federal Reserve last year will be kept on hold.