US consumer prices climbed 0.4% in November, led by a spike in energy costs, government data show today.
The consumer price index (CPI) was pulled higher by a 4.1% rise in overall energy prices, according to Labor Department figures. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the 'core' inflation index was flat for the month.
The headline index was in line with expectations, while analysts had been looking for a 0.1% rise in the core consumer price index. Over the past 12 months, overall prices were up 1.8% and core prices up 1.7%.
November marked the first time since February the 12-month inflation data was positive, suggesting that the likelihood of a deflationary cycle is easing.
Housing starts jump in November
Separate figures from the Commerce Department showed that US housing starts jumped 8.9% in November, in a further sign that the troubled sector is on the mend.
The department said that the number of units on which construction has been started jumped to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 574,000, reversing a sharp decline in October.
The figure was in line with market expectations, and suggests construction is reviving after a horrific slump in the US housing market that sent the economy into its worst recession in decades.
The report also showed that building permits, a sign of future construction, rose 6% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 584,000. Even with the increases, housing starts are 12.4%below the level of a year ago and permits are down 7.3%.
Meanwhile, separate figures show that the US current account deficit widened as expected in the third quarter to $108 billion, largely driven by a big trade shortfall.
The deficit rose from a downwardly revised $98 billion in the second quarter and was in line with analysts' forecasts for a third quarter shortfall of $108 billion. The third-quarter deficit equaled 3% of gross domestic product, up from 2.8% in the months from April to June, the Commerce Department said.
The current account is the broadest measure of total US trade with the rest of the world, covering goods, services and income transfers. US exports and imports both rose in the July-September quarter, a sign that world trade is recovering after being hampered by last year's global financial crisis.
Goods exports rose to $263.9 billion from $246.1 billion in the previous three months, while imports jumped to $396.1 billion from $361.6 billion.
