Consumer Prices Rise for First Time in Six Months

Consumer prices rose 0.3% in January for the first time in six months, led by an increase in gasoline prices, the Labor Department said Friday.

The gain in the consumer price index matched economists’ forecasts, the government’s main gauge of inflation, Bloomberg reported. Prices had fallen 0.8% in December.

The core CPI excluding food and energy rose 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.