WASHINGTON - US CONSUMER prices accelerated sharply in June from May, led by a surge in gasoline prices, government data showed on Wednesday.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.7 per cent after an unrevised 0.1 per cent increase in May.

Most analysts had forecast a 0.6 per cent rise in June.

Gasoline prices jumped 17.3 per cent and accounted for 80 per cent of the rise in CPI, the department said.

Core CPI, which excludes energy and food, rose 0.2 per cent in June after an unchanged 0.1 per cent rise in May. -- AFP