U.S. consumer prices posted their biggest increase in six months in December as gasoline prices rebounded, but inflationary pressures remained tame, the government reported Thursday. The Labor Department said its consumer price index (CPI) increased 0.3 percent last month after being flat in November. For all of 2013, consumer prices rose 1.5 percent. The increases were in line with economist expectations. Most of last month's gain was due to a 3.1 percent surge in gasoline prices, the biggest since June. Gasoline prices fell 1.6 percent in November. Food prices rose 0.1 percent in December for the third consecutive month. Excluding volatile energy and food costs, the so-called core CPI rose only 0.1 percent in December, slowing from a 0.2 percent gain the previous month. For all of last year, core CPI rose 1.7 percent. Both CPI and core CPI year-over-year figures are below the Federal Reserve (Fed) inflation target of 2 percent.
