US consumer price index, core gauge unchanged in October

[WASHINGTON] A measure of US inflation was unchanged in October, missing forecasts that called for a modest gain, reflecting cheaper gasoline, declining medical-care costs and lower clothing prices.

The reading on the consumer price index was the slowest in five months and followed a 0.2 per cent advance in September, Labor Department data showed Thursday. Compared with a year earlier, the gauge rose 1.2 per cent. The core index, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, was also unchanged from the prior month and up 1.6 per cent from a year earlier.

The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists was for a 0.1 per cent monthly increase in CPI and a 0.2 per cent gain in the core gauge.

BLOOMBERG