Gas prices help pump inflation up 0.6%, the biggest leap in six months

WASHINGTON — Consumers began to feel the full effects of soaring fuel and food prices last month, with inflation leaping upward 0.6% in May — driven by a huge one-month rise of 8.5% in the price of petroleum-based products, the Labor Department reported today. The inflation number was the biggest increase since November. Energy prices alone increased 16.5% in the first five months of this year, nearly as much as the 17.4% they climbed in all of 2007. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-economy14-2008jun14,0,6521356.story