[font=verdana, arial, helvetica][size=-1] To determine the rate of inflation in the US economy, analysts use the US Consumer Price Index, which was up 0.6 last month following a 0.4 percent increase in February. While it was the sharpest gain since last October, investors on Wall Street had expected the CPI to rise 0.5 percent. The *core* Consumer Price Index rate, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, came in at 0.4 percent against market forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise, serving as the highest monthly increase in the index since August 2002. This data released today was in contrast to producer price data ... (full story)