U.S. March core CPI up 0.4%, most since Nov. 2001 WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - U.S. consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in March as inflation hit a broad array of goods and services, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Energy prices jumped 1.9 percent. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core consumer price index rose 0.4 percent, the biggest increase since November 2001. Inflation was nearly double what Wall Street economists expected. The CPI is up 1.7 percent in the past 12 months, but has risen at a 5.1 percent rate in the past three months. The core rate is up 1.6 percent in the past 12 months, but has risen at a 2.9 percent annual rate over the past three months. Medical care prices rose 0.6 percent. Housing rose 0.3 percent on a spike in hotel prices. Apparel rose 0.9 percent, the most in five years.
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