Consumer prices rise the most since spring

Prices for gas, food, shelter and clothing rose last month by the most since March.

The Consumer Price Index was up 0.5 percent in July, following a drop of 0.2 percent in June, the Labor Department said Thursday. 

Gas prices rose sharply in July, up 4.7 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, accounting for about half of the overall increase.

The energy index has risen 19 percent over the past year.

Overall, food prices increased 0.4 percent in July, with larger increases in dairy and fruit prices. The cost of meat, coffee and vegetables all increased. 

The core index, excluding volatile food and energy, was up 0.2 percent., slightly below the 0.3 percent increase in each of the previous two months.

Prices are up 3.6 percent from a year ago, the same amount as in May and June.  

Core prices are 1.8 percent higher than they were a year earlier, the largest increase in two years, with rent and the rising cost of hotels pushing up housing prices by the most in three years. 

Although prices are up, the index of core prices, used by the Federal Reserve to gauge inflation, is within the target range of 1.5 and 2 percent.

Core consumer inflation is expected to remain between 1.5 and 1.8 percent this year, the Fed has said. 

The cost of apparel increased sharply last month, as clothing prices were up 1.2 percent, the third consecutive month of increases. Clothing costs have increased 3.1 percent during the past 12 months, the largest yearly increase since July 1992.

In contrast, the price of new autos was unchanged after a long string of increases. 

Household furnishings and operations were flat in July as well, and the recreation index declined slightly.