Economics
U.S. Economy May Be Strong Enough to Forge Much-Needed Inflation
- Increase in core prices included rents, clothing, health care
- Last time core rose 0.3% in consecutive months was in 2001
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The American economy may finally be strong enough to give companies the confidence to charge more.
Consumer prices excluding food and fuel rose 0.3 percent in February for a second month, according to Labor Department data issued Wednesday in Washington. The last time that happened was in early 2001, giving a sense of just how rare are consecutive moves of such magnitude.