Consumer Inflation Jumps on Higher Gasoline Prices

By Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Led by higher gasoline prices, consumer inflation shot up in November by the largest amount in more than two years.

Stocks finished a bruising week on the downside Friday after the consumer-inflation report raised concerns about how much freedom the Federal Reserve has to continue cutting interest rates. The Dow Jones industrial average gave up more than 178 points.

The Labor Department report Friday showed that its closely watched Consumer Price Index rose by 0.8 percent last month, the biggest increase since September 2005, as energy prices jumped by 5.7 percent, reflecting a huge gain in gasoline. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, was also up last month, rising by 0.3 percent as clothing, airline tickets and prescription drugs all took big jumps.

(c) 2007 Deseret News (Salt Lake City). Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.