By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer prices increased by 0.6% in August as gasoline prices rose by the largest amount in more than three years, the Labor Department said Friday. Gas prices surged 9% last month, accounting for about four-fifths of the increase in consumer inflation. Food prices rose a much smaller 0.2%. Stripping out volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core price index rose 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast CPI to rise by 0.7% overall, with a 0.2% increase in the core rate. Consumer prices have climbed 1.7% over the last 12 months and 1.9% on a core basis, within the Federal Reserve's target for inflation. The spike in consumer prices, combined with no change in wage growth, resulted in average hourly earnings for U.S. workers falling 0.7% in the month.
