Consumer prices inched up in December

U.S. consumer prices rose 0.3% in December of 2007, according to a report released today by the U.S. Department of Labor. This follows a 0.8% bump in November, the largest of 2007. U.S. prices finished the year up 4.1% up from last year, the largest annual increase since 1990. The rise in prices, one third of which attributable to energy cost, finished the fourth quarter of 2007 with an overall increase of 5.6%. Most of this was due to a 37.1% increase in energy costs over the final three months of 2007, and a 16.3% increase in the cost of transportation, both due to the rising cost of fuel. The largest increases in price for December were in the following sectors: energy (0.9% increase), transportation (0.5% increase) and medical costs (up 0.4%). Lesser increases occurred in education and clothing, while food and recreation prices remained relatively steady. Housing prices increased by 0.3%, while rents increased by 0.4% for December.