March Inflation Tame Despite Gasoline’s Rise

Inflation remained restrained in March even as gasoline prices jumped and retail sales advanced for the eighth month in a row, government figures show. The consumer price index rose a modest 0.2%, and the so-called core inflation rate, which excludes food and energy costs, rose just 0.1% for the third consecutive month, the Labor Department said. Retail sales rose 0.2%, boosted by consumers with tax refund checks, the Commerce Department said. The gain follows a revised 1.7% rise in February, the strongest in five years and nearly double the original 0.9% estimate. Sales jumped at apparel and department stores as well as at furniture outlets and drugstores. Sales were down slightly at auto dealerships and building supply stores after big gains the month before. Declining prices for new cars and trucks, clothing, computers and tobacco helped offset higher prescription drug prices and a 4.7% rise in airline fares, the steepest in three years. Energy prices jumped 1.6%, the biggest gain in more than two years. Gasoline costs rose 3.7%, but food prices declined 0.2%.