Consumer Price Index Rises for First Time in Four Months

The consumer price index rose for the first time in four months, the Labor Department said Friday.

The government’s main inflation gauge increased 0.7%, the largest gain since June 2009, as gasoline prices rose in February by the most in three years, Bloomberg News reported.

The core CPI rate, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2%, matching economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

Economists had forecast a 0.5% increase in the CPI, Bloomberg reported.

Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services. If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.