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February 21, 2007 9:00 AM, EST

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U.S. consumer prices rose 0.2% in January following December’s 0.4% rise, the Labor Department said Wednesday.The so-called “core” consumer price index excluding food and energy increased 0.3%, the most since June, following a 0.1% gain, Labor said.The overall increase was greater than the 0.1% forecasted by economists, Bloomberg reported, while core prices were forecasted to gain 0.2%.Core consumer prices increased 2.7% during the 12 months ended in January, the biggest year-over-year rise since October, Bloomberg said.The CPI is the government's broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the CPI covers s consumers pay for services.If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.