Consumer prices rose 0.3% in June

Consumer prices rose sharply for the second straight month in June on higher gasoline and food costs.

The consumer price index increased 0.3%, the Labor Department said Friday. That’s in line with economists’ estimates. Over the past year, prices rose 0.1%, the first increase in that measure since December.

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Core prices, which exclude food and energy costs, were up 0.2%, matching economists’ forecasts. Core prices are up 1.8% the past year.

Last month, gasoline prices increased 3.4%, and food costs rose 0.3%, mostly because of an 18.3% rise in egg prices linked to a bird flu epidemic that has thinned supplies.

Airline fares jumped 0.2%, rent, 0.4% and tobacco, 0.8%.Those were partly offset by price declines for medical care, household furnishings and used cars.

The Federal Reserve is seeking signs of a pickup in inflation so it can raise interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. Inflation has hovered well below the Fed’s annual 2% target, largely as a result of low gas prices and a strong dollar that’s making imports cheap for U.S. consumers.

But Fed Chair Janet Yellen told Congress this week there are indications those effects are beginning to ease. Yellen said the Fed tentatively plans to raise its benchmark interest rate this year if the labor market continues to improve and policymakers feel confident inflation will move toward the Fed’s target in the medium term.