WASHINGTON _ Consumer prices increased in September at the fastest pace since the spring as gasoline costs jumped after declining for two straight months, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The consumer price index, a closely watched barometer of inflation, rose 0.3 percent last month after a 0.2 percent gain in August. The last time the measure increased by more was in April.
Prices increased 1.5 percent for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, the fastest inflation rate in nearly two years.
A year ago, there was virtually no inflation as the annual rate was just below zero, according to the consumer price index.
Tuesday's report likely boosts the chances that Federal Reserve policymakers will nudge up their benchmark short-term interest rate again before the end of the year. Fed officials have been waiting for inflation to pick up after years of slow price growth following the Great Recession.
Gasoline prices increased 5.8 percent in September and accounted for more than half of the overall rise in the consumer price index, the Labor Department said. Gas prices had declined 0.9 percent in August and 4.7 percent in July.
Rent and housing costs also contributed to the consumer price index increase last month, rising 0.4 percent for its biggest gain since May.
The higher prices in those key sectors came as food costs in September were unchanged for the third consecutive month.
Core prices, which exclude often-volatile food and energy costs, increased 0.1 percent last month. The pace was slower than the 0.3 percent growth in August because it does not factor in the declining gas prices.
For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, core prices increased 2.2 percent, down from a 2.3 percent annual rate through the end of August.
Fed monetary policymakers want to see prices rising 2 percent annually. The Fed uses a different inflation barometer based on personal consumption expenditures that runs lower than the consumer price index.
Through the end of August, that measure showed prices had increased 1 percent and core prices were up 1.7 percent.
