WASHINGTON (AP) – The Labor Department says U.S. consumer prices were dragged lower again last month by plunging energy costs. The consumer price index fell 0.2 percent in September, following a 0.1 percent drop in August. Gasoline prices dropped 9 percent last month after falling 4.1 percent in August. Overall consumer prices were unchanged over the past year. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core consumer prices rose 0.2 percent from August and 1.9 percent from September 2014. The Federal Reserve wants to see annual inflation running close to 2 percent. The overall number is well short of that goal, but core inflation is close. The Fed decided last month to hold off on a long-anticipated increase of short-term interest rates, which it has kept near zero since December 2008.
