US consumer prices rose slightly in September, contrary to analysts' expectations, the Labor Department said today.
The department's consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% compared with August.
Analysts had expected prices to remain unchanged from August, when they fell 0.2% for the first time in a year and a half.
On an annual basis, the CPI remained steady at 1.7% in September.
A continuing decline in energy prices was offset by rising food, housing and health care prices.
Excluding food and energy, prices still rose 0.1% in September.
Energy prices dropped for the third month in a row, by 0.7% in September, a 0.6% year-over-year decline.
Food prices jumped 0.3%, with a 2% hike in the price of beef, up 16.7% since January, and a 0.5% increase for dairy products. Food prices have climbed 3% from a year ago.
