The Consumer Price Index rose 0.1 percent in December compared to the month earlier, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The index rose 2.7 percent, on a seasonally-unadjusted rate, from 2008 to 2009.
Food, energy and apparel indexes all increased compared to the previous month, while the rent index remained unchanged and the new vehicles index declined.
The food index showed a 0.2 percent increase, the largest one-month increase in a year. The energy index increased 0.2 percent because of increases in fuel oil and gasoline, but electricity was unchanged and natural gas declined.
For the year, the index rose 2.7 percent compared to a 0.1 percent increase in 2008. The increase was credited to the energy index jumping up 18.2 percent for the year, compared to a 21.3 percent decline in 2008.
The consumer price index is a measure of the average change in prices over time of goods and services purchased by households.
