The Associated Press

Inflation edged up a slight 0.2% in the United States last month, with energy costs up but food prices down.

Excluding energy and food, prices were also up 0.2%, slightly higher than the 0.1% increase analysts had forecast.

Over the past 12 months, consumer prices in the United States are actually down 1.3%, reflecting a severe recession which has kept a lid on price pressures across a wide range of products and services.

In a separate report, the U.S. Labour Department said number of newly laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment insurance has fallen to the lowest level since early January.

First-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to a seasonally-adjusted 514,000 from an upwardly revised 524,000 the previous week.

It was the fifth decline in U.S. jobless claims in six weeks but there are 5.99 million people continuing to claim benefits.