Consumer Prices Shoot Up 0.3 Percent

Increases for everything from airline fares to postage stamps sent prices rising in January with the underlying inflation rate climbing at the fastest pace in more than two years.

The 0.3 percent rise in the overall CPI in January followed a string of modest gains of 0.2 percent in December and 0.1 percent in October and November.

Energy prices climbed 0.3 percent in January, but food costs were actually down 0.2 percent.