Washington — US consumer inflation dipped in March amid plunging petrol prices, but the annual rate rose, suggesting a long-awaited up-tick in price pressures could be drawing near, the US labour department reported on Wednesday. The sharp drop in fuel prices masked rising costs for shelter, food and medical care that could support Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates this year and next. Meanwhile, wage data showed rising hourly earnings for workers, which could also fuel inflation. The consumer price index (CPI), which tracks costs for household goods and services, slipped 0.1% compared with February, driven lower by a 4.9% decline in petrol prices, according to the report. Natural gas prices also fell 1.2%. The result undershot analyst expectations, which had called for a 0.1% increase. Excluding volatile food and fuel prices, "core" CPI gained 0.2%, matching the consensus forecast. The fuel price jump was likely to be dismissed as noise, since economists had predicted th...
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