US consumer prices rise in March

US consumer prices rose 0.5% in March, nearly double some Wall Street expectations.

The US Labor Department said today that energy prices increased 1.9% in the month. Medical care prices rose 0.6%. Housing rose 0.3% and clothing rose 0.9%, the most in five years.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core consumer price index rose 0.4% percent, which represented the biggest increase since November 2001.

The Consumer Price Index is up 1.7% in the past year , but has risen at a 5.1% rate in the past three months.