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Consumer prices up by less than forecast

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in March, slightly less-than-expected as cheaper clothing helped hold down overall prices despite a modest rebound in energy prices, a Labor Department report on Wednesday showed.
Posted : Wed, 16 Apr 2008 12:40:08 GMT
Author : Reuters
Category : US (Business)
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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in March, slightly less-than-expected as cheaper clothing helped hold down overall prices despite a modest rebound in energy prices, a Labor Department report on Wednesday showed.

The rise in March prices was less than the 0.4 percent gain that Wall Street economists had forecast. Prices were flat in February. So-called core consumer prices that exclude food and energy were up 0.2 percent - in line with expectations - after also being unchanged in February.

Energy prices gained 1.9 percent in March after declining 0.5 percent in February. Costlier energy has been a major factor in rising concern about potential inflation, but it did not show through strongly in the March data.

Prices for apparel dropped for a second straight month, down 1.3 percent after falling 0.3 percent in February. The department said the March decline was the largest since September 1998, possibly a sign that retailers are being forced to cut prices to lure hard-pressed consumers into stores.

The department said that in the first quarter this year, overall consumer prices rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.1 percent, down from the 4.1 percent rise posted for all of 2007. Core prices in the first quarter gained at a 2 percent rate, under the 2.4 percent rise for all of 2007.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville, editing by Joanne Morrison)


(c) Reuters 2008. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.

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