Consumer prices jump 0.3% in December

Consumer prices jump 0.3% in December

U.S. consumer prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in December, led by higher energy and shelter costs, the Labor Department said Thursday. The increase in inflation, combined with fewer hours worked, reduced the average hourly pay of American workers by 0.3% last month. In December, energy prices rose 2.1% and food prices edged up 0.1%. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, rose a smaller 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the overall CPI to rise 0.3% and core rate to increase 0.2%. Consumer prices rose an unadjusted 1.5% in 2013, down from 1.7% in 2012. The last time the CPI rose less than 2% for two straight years was in 1997-1998. The core rate advanced a slightly faster 1.7% in 2013. Real or inflation-adjusted hourly wages, meanwhile, have increased by a scant 0.2% in the past 12 months. And workers saw basically no gain at all on a weekly basis because their hours were reduced.