U.S. consumer price index jumps 0.5% in June

U.S. consumer price index jumps 0.5% in June

U.S. consumer prices rose a seasonally adjusted 0.5% in June to mark the biggest increase since February, as the cost of gasoline, housing, medical care, clothing and food all rose, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The energy price index shot up 3.4%, spurred by a 6.3% gain in gasoline. Food prices rose 0.2%. The core CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, also advanced 0.2%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.5% increase in the broad CPI and a 0.2 % gain in the core rate. Consumer prices have risen an unadjusted 1.8% over the past 12 months, up from 1.4% in May. Real or inflation-adjusted hourly wages, meanwhile, were flat in June. Real wages have risen just 0.4% over the past 12 months.