Washington - US inflation fell to its lowest level in six years in December as the cost of petrol declined sharply, the US Bureau of Labour Statistics said Friday.
Inflation fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for the month after falling 0.3% in November.
Energy commodities, including petrol, posted their steepest one-month decline since 2008 and were off more than 4% in December on top of significant declines in previous months, the bureau said. Petrol prices alone fell more than 9%.
Excluding volatile food and energy costs, inflation remained unchanged for the month.
For the past 12 months, the government's benchmark inflation gauge, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, was up 0.8%. Core inflation, excluding food and energy costs, has increased 1.6% over the period.
The figures remained below the US Federal Reserve's goal of 2% inflation, raising questions about whether the central bank will raise rates later this year for the first time since 2006.