Rents drive rise in Sept core prices

Washington

CONSUMER prices in the US excluding food and fuel rose more than forecast in September, propelled by rising rents. Plunging energy expenses caused total costs to decrease by the most since January.

The so-called core price measure, which strips out often-volatile food and fuel, climbed 0.2 per cent, the most in three months, a Labor Department report showed on Thursday in Washington. The total consumer price index decreased 0.2 per cent last month after falling 0.1 per cent in August.