US consumer prices down 0.1 percent in August, first decline since January as gas costs fall

WASHINGTON – U.S. consumer prices edged down in August, marking the first decline in seven months and fueled by a big drop in gasoline prices.

The Labor Department says its consumer price index slipped 0.1 percent in August after a small 0.1 percent rise in July. Gas prices, which had been rising for three months, dropped 4.1 percent amid the recent fall in global oil prices.

Food prices were up 0.2 percent, led by another surge in egg prices.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food costs, rose a modest 0.1 percent in August, indicating cost pressures remain a no-show in the economy. Over the past 12 months, overall prices are up just 0.2 percent, while core inflation is up a modest 1.8 percent.