U.S. consumer inflation surged by the largest amount in more than two years in November, led by a huge jump in gasoline prices.

The consumer price index rose 0.8% last month, the biggest one-month increase since a 1.2% surge in September 2005, the U.S. Labor Department reported today.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, also accelerated in November, rising by 0.3%, the biggest increase in 10 months.

Today’s report could complicate the Federal Reserve’s task of addressing downside economic growth risks at a time when officials remain worried about inflation.

The data exceeded Wall Street forecasts of a 0.6% headline CPI increase and 0.2% core gain.

Consumer prices were up 4.3% from a year ago, matching the highest rate since September 2005. The core CPI was up 2.3% compared to the same month a year ago, up from 2.2% in October. That’s the first increase in annual core inflation since January.

Meanwhile, U.S. industrial production accelerated during November, driven higher by increased output of cars, trucks and computers.

Industrial production increased 0.3% last month, following a revised 0.7% drop in October, the Federal Reserve said today in a monthly report. Originally, the Fed estimated a 0.5% decrease in October output.

Capacity utilization of U.S. industries rose to 81.5% from 81.4% in October. October usage was originally seen at 81.7%. The 1972-2006 average was 81.0%.