Consumer Prices Rise 0.6%

The consumer price index rose 0.6% in March, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

The core CPI excluding food and energy rose by just 0.1%, following February’s 0.2% gain, Labor said. The March increase was the smallest increase of the year.
 
The overall increase followed a 0.4% gain and matched economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported. Core prices were forecast to rise 0.2%.

The CPI is the government’s broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. 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.