Consumer prices rise slightly as gasoline jumps

Consumer prices rose 0.4 percent in August, the U.S. Labor Department announced Tuesday, as a 9.1 percent surge in gasoline prices skewed the index higher. The report provided a few morsels for the inflation hawks, but not much more.

However, the core rate -- which excludes the often-volatile food and energy component -- rose just 0.1 percent, highlighting the impact of the gasoline price jump and the overall slack demand in the economy.