US consumer prices were flat for a second month in a row in January, held down by a sharp drop in gasoline and fuel oil prices, government data released Thursday showed.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index was unchanged, while core CPI, excluding food and energy, rose 0.3 percent.
The energy sub-index fell 1.7 percent, its third consecutive decline, led by 3.0 percent drops in prices for gasoline and fuel oil that offset a 1.1 percent rise in electricity costs.
Food prices were unchanged after inching up 0.2 percent in the prior three months.
In the overall CPI, clothing was the strongest price gainer, up 0.8 percent.
The data underscored continued weak inflationary pressures in the sluggish economy, which contracted 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2012 despite massive stimulus from the Federal Reserve.
Year-over-year, CPI slowed for a third straight month, rising 1.6 percent in January, its lowest rise in six months. In January 2012, CPI was up 2.9 percent from the year-ago month.
Core CPI was up 1.9 percent from a year ago, driven by a 3.8 percent jump in airline fares and a 3.1 percent rise in medical care costs.
“The year/year gain has been hovering around the 2 percent mark for the past seven months, and shouldn’t worry Fed officials too much,” said Jennifer Lee of BMO Capital Markets.
Falling energy prices curb US inflation
