Consumer Price Index Rises for Third Month

The consumer price index rose 0.2% in July, its third consecutive increase, the Labor Department said Thursday.

The increase in the government’s main inflation gauge followed a 0.5% rise in June, Labor said. The core CPI rate, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2%.

The increase matched economists’ median forecast, Bloomberg News reported.

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