August cost of living hits highest increase in 3 years
Sep 19, 2012, 3:50 PM | Updated: 3:50 pm
Cost of living in the U.S. increased by the largest amount in three years during the month of August, according to Businessweek.
The Consumer Price Index made a 0.6 percent increase in August, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Items not related to food and gasoline prices only increased 0.1 percent, according to Businessweek.
“I think inflation will remain benign for some time,” Ryan Sweet, a senior economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. in West Chester, Pa., told Businessweek before the report. “The consumer’s still very, very price-sensitive, and rightfully so because the unemployment rate’s high, wage growth is barely keeping up with inflation.”
Rising gas prices accounted for 80 percent of the increase, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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