WASHINGTON, Feb. 17 (UPI) -- Consumer prices crept higher in January, climbing to 1.6 percent on an annual basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
Prices rose 1.5 percent through 2010 with a 0.5 percent month-to-month rise in December. Prices month-to-month rose 0.4 percent in January, the bureau said.
The annual rate of inflation remains below the U.S. Federal Reserve's target rate of 2 percent, but has been gaining for the past four months. At the end of the third quarter last year, the annual inflation rate was at 1.1 percent.
Core prices in January, which excludes the volatile categories of food and energy, rose 0.2 percent over December at an annual rate of 1 percent.
Energy prices, meanwhile, rose 2.1 percent over December at an annual rate of 7.3 percent. Food prices rose 0.5 percent on the month with a 12-month increase of 1.8 percent.
At gas stations, prices rose 3.5 percent -- a 12-month rate of 13.4 percent -- as energy commodities rose 4 percent in the month.
The cost of new vehicles dropped in the month for the fourth consecutive month, declining 0.1 percent. Prices for new vehicles are up 0.1 percent on an annual basis.
