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Consumer Price Index increases due to jump in energy prices, foodAccording to the department, energy prices increased 4.1 percent during the month after rising 1.5 percent in October. An increase in gasoline prices accounted for more than three-fourths of the rise in the energy index monitored by the government. Over the past year, energy prices have increased 7.4 percent. "The index for gasoline rose sharply and the indexes for electricity, fuel oil, and natural gas also increased, creating the fourth consecutive rise in the energy index and the largest increase since August," the report noted. Food prices also saw a rise in November, up by 0.1 percent for the month. Much of the increase was accounted for by the cost of food at restaurants, which was up 0.2 percent. Though it has seen recent increases, the food index for the past year is down 0.7 percent in the last 12 months. Barring increases in food and energy prices, prices for consumer goods did not increase in November after seeing a 0.2 percent rise in October. The flat report for November comes after 10 months of increases. Not including food and energy, the price for consumer goods increased 1.7 percent over the past 12 months. Overall, the department reported that CPI has increased 1.8 percent over the past year on a nonadjusted basis. The report from the Labor Department comes as the Federal Reserve decided to keep the key interest rate at zero to 0.25 percent, where it has been for a year.
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