U.S. Consumer Prices Edge Up 0.1 Percent

U.S. consumer prices edged up 0.1 percent, the smallest increase since November’s flat consumer inflation figures, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday.

The July increase followed a 0.2 percent rise in June, the department said.

The core consumer price index, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, advanced 0.2 percent, matching June’s increase, the department said.

Overall consumer inflation was up 2.4 percent from a year ago, with the core CPI up 2.2 percent compared with the same month a year earlier, the third-straight annual gain of that size.

Energy prices fell 1 percent from June, the second straight decline, with gasoline and natural gas prices slipping 1.7 percent. Electricity prices were unchanged.

Food prices rose 0.3 percent, down from June’s 0.5 percent jump.

Medical care prices surged 0.6 percent, the fastest monthly rise since January. Clothing prices advanced 0.4 percent, while housing, which accounts for 40 percent of the CPI index, rose 0.2 percent.

The price for new cars and airline tickets was steady in July.