US inflation ticks up unexpectedly in September

US consumer prices rose slightly in September, contrary to analysts' expectations, the Labor Department reported Wednesday.

The department's consumer price index (CPI), a key measure of inflation, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent compared with August.

Analysts had expected prices to remain unchanged from August, when they fell 0.2 percent for the first time in a year and a half.

On an annualized basis, the CPI remained steady at 1.7 percent in September.

A continuing decline in energy prices was offset by rising food, housing and health care prices.

Excluding food and energy, prices still rose 0.1 percent in September.

Energy prices dropped for the third straight month, by 0.7 percent in September, a 0.6 percent year-over-year decline.

Food prices jumped 0.3 percent, with a 2.0 percent hike in the price of beef, up 16.7 percent since January, and a 0.5 percent increase for dairy products. Food prices have climbed 3.0 percent from a year ago.