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U.S. consumer prices jumped 0.6% in September, the Labor Department said Tuesday, mostly because of higher gas costs. So-called core prices, seen as a better gauge of inflationary trends, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% for the third straight month. The core figure strips out volatile food and energy costs. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.5% increase in the main CPI and a 0.2% advance in the core rate. Consumer prices have risen an unadjusted 2.0% over the past 12 months, up from 1.7% in August. The core rate has also risen 2.0% in that span, up from 1.9% [...]

Business inventories climbed 0.6% in August to a seasonally adjusted $ 1.6 trillion, the Commerce Department said Monday. The gain in inventories was led by motor vehicles and parts, which jumped 1.5% on the month and 20.3% compared to Aug. 2011 levels, and by clothing, which rose 3% monthly and is up 6.2% compared to Aug. 2011 levels. The broader inventory-to-sales ratio stayed at 1.28. July inventories were upwardly revised to 1.1% from 0.8%.

U.S. consumer prices increased by 0.6% in August as gasoline prices rose by the largest amount in more than three years, the Labor Department said Friday. Gas prices surged 9% last month, accounting for about four-fifths of the increase in consumer inflation. Food prices rose a much smaller 0.2%. Stripping out volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core price index rose 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast CPI to rise by 0.7% overall, with a 0.2% increase in the core rate. Consumer prices have climbed 1.7% over the last 12 months and 1.9% on a core basis, within [...]

Industrial production picked up in July after two months of slight growth, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday in the latest reading that shows the economy in the third quarter got off to a decent start. Industrial production picked up 0.6% in July after slender 0.1% monthly gains in May and June, the Fed said. The Fed had previously reported a 0.4% gain in June and a 0.2% drop in May. The 0.6% gain was as expected in a MarketWatch-compiled poll of economists. Capacity utilization rose to 79.3% in July from 78.9% in May – the highest level since April 2008. [...]

The prices paid for U.S. imports fell 0.6% in July, the Commerce Department said Friday. That compared to a revised 2.4% drop in June. The decline in June was originally reported as 2.7%, mainly because of falling oil prices. Oil prices also fell in July, but at a much slower rate. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected import prices to be unchanged in July. Excluding fuel, import prices dipped 0.4% last month. The price of U.S.-made goods exported to other nations, meanwhile, rose 0.5% in July after a 1.7% decline in the prior month.