Washington

THE cost of living in the US excluding food and fuel rose 0.2 per cent in March for a third month, signalling that inflation is starting to firm.

The increase in the core consumer-price index reflected broad-based gains in rents, medical care, clothing and used vehicles, a Labor Department report showed on Friday in Washington. The advance matched the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Including the volatile costs of food and energy, the index also rose 0.2 per cent.