Business news with words department+previous+rose. 16 news.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The underlying rate of U.S. inflation accelerated in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The consumer price index increased 0.8%, driven by a 5.7% gain in energy prices, the fastest increase in energy prices since March. This is the biggest gain in consumer prices in more than two years. Food prices rose 0.3%, and apparel, airline and drug prices also spiked. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was up 0.3% in November, the biggest gain since January. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.7% in November after a 0.3% gain in October. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

THE year-on-year growth rate of China's home prices last month hit a two-year high, a senior official in the nation's top planning body has said. The average home price in 70 major cities rose 10.5 percent last month compared with a year ago, and average new home prices grew 12.2 percent year-on-year, Cao Changqing, head of the pricing department at the National Development and Reform Commission, said yesterday in an online interview. But Cao did not reveal last month's growth rate over October. The average housing price in these cities has increased six consecutive months, including November. In the first 11 months of this year, home prices in 70 cities increased 7.3 percent from the previous year, while new residences jumped 7.9 percent. Shenzhen and Guangzhou's home prices began to drop gradually after hiking in previous months, while home sales in popular areas such as Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou have decreased, Cao said. Property policies will meet the

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.1% in October, below expectations and slower than the 0.7% increase in sales, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, fell to 1.26 in October from 1.27 in the previous month. This is the lowest inventory-to-sales ratio since July. Economists had been expecting the nation's inventories to rise 0.3% in October. A new piece of data in the report was the 0.4% increase in October retail inventories, which follows a 0.1% gain in September.

The employment report for November, released Friday by the US Labor Department, showed a decline in job-creation over the previous month. Overall, non-farm payrolls rose by 94,000, sharply down from the 170,000 rise in October.

CRUDE oil futures closed down in choppy trading yesterday, failing to breach US$100 a barrel after the government reported that crude oil inventories at a key Midwest oil terminal rose for the first time in weeks. The news helped offset the market impact of an overall drop in crude oil stocks. Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell 74 cents to settle at US$97.29 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Stocks of distillates, including heating oil, also dropped more than expected last week, the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported. That could mean more bad news for heating oil customers already expecting costs to rise 22 percent this winter. Heating oil futures fell 0.27 cent to settle at US$2.6874 a gallon on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier hitting US$2.7154, a new record. Crude prices -- which rose as high as US$99.29 on the New York Mercantile Exchange earlier Wednesday and broke the previous intraday record of US$98.62

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- First-time seasonally adjusted claims for state unemployment benefits fell in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The number of initial claims in the week ending Nov. 17 fell 11,000 to 330,000. Wall Street economists had expected claims to hit 330,000. Jobless claims in the previous week were revised to 341,000, compared with the initial estimate of a rise of 20,000 to 339,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial claims fell 750 to 329,750. Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits increased 7,000 to 2.57 million in the week ending Nov. 10. The four-week seasonally adjusted moving average of continuing claims rose 10,750 to 2.57 million.

Crude oil futures rose yesterday as traders closed out December contracts and also on investors' belief that supplies are not as plentiful as a government report at first suggested. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose $1.67 to settle at $95.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But January crude, which now becomes the front-month contract, closed $1.26 below that, settling up $1.77 at $93.84 a barrel. December crude had lost 66 cents in the previous session after the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration reported an unexpected 2.8 million barrel increase in inventories last week. But much of that supply build occurred on the West Coast, where the energy infrastructure is largely isolated from the rest of the U.S., analysts said. "I think the market may have realized overnight that that EIA report wasn't that bearish," said Jim Ritterbusch, president of Ritterbusch & Associates in Galena, Illinois. Reports that ministers from

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- Crude-oil futures closed with strong gains on Friday, rebounding from their decline in the previous session when the Energy Department reported an unexpected rise in crude inventories. Crude oil for December delivery rose $1.67 to end at $95.10 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The consumer price index increased 0.3% in October, driven by a 1.4% gain in energy prices, the Labor Department said Thursday. This was the fastest increase in energy prices since May. Food prices rose 0.3%. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was up 0.2% in October. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.3% in October after a 0.3% gain in September. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% in October after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time claims for state unemployment benefits jumped in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number of initial claims in the week ending Nov 10 rose 20,000 to 339,000. It's the highest level since the week ended Oct. 13. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to rise to 325,000. A spokesman for the Labor Department said there were no special factors but anecdotal evidence suggested that the strike by Hollywood writers may have impacted claims. Jobless claims in the previous week were revised to a decrease of 10,000 to 319,000 compared with the initial estimate of a fall of 13,000 to 317,000. The four-week average of initial claims remained steady at 330,000. Meanwhile, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits fell 7,000 to 2.57 million in the week ending Nov. 3. The four-week moving average of continuing claims rose 11,000 to 2.56 million.

WALL Street capped a huge week with a sharp advance yesterday after the government's employment report for September and its revision of August's data cooled the market's fears of a recession. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the measure most closely followed by market watchers, reached a new closing high. The Labor Department's report that employers added 110,000 jobs in September _ essentially what analysts had expected _ reassured Wall Street that the job market wasn't pulling back sharply as was feared a month ago. Though the data appeared to lessen the likelihood of an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets Oct. 30-31, investors were relieved that the economy doesn't appear headed for a precipitous slowdown. Strength this year in the job market amid a housing downturn and tighter credit conditions has been an important pillar for the economy. With consumer spending accounting for about two-thirds of US economic activity, investors are eager for workers to continue to collect their paychecks. Much of Wall Street's collective exhale yesterday owed to a revision in August payrolls, which were updated to show a gain of 89,000 jobs compared with an earlier estimate of loss of 4,000 jobs. The release of the August figure _ when economists had predicted a rise _ sent the Dow down nearly 250 points in a single session and, market watchers say, played a role in the Fed's decision to cut its key interest rate by a larger-than-expected half-percentage point last month. "We're not seeing a weakening of the labor market. There's no indication that the wheels are falling off," said T.J. Marta, economic strategist at RBC Capital Markets. He contends that while the employment figures make it less likely the Fed will cut rates this month, many on Wall Street were relieved to see the economy forging ahead. "It looks bad compared with the rip-roaring days in the housing sector but this is called normalcy." The Dow Jones industrial average rose 91.70, or 0.66 percent, to 14,066.01. The blue chip index set a new trading high of 14,124.54, topping a high of 14,115.51 set Monday, when the index also saw a record close. Broader stock indicators also jumped. The S&P 500 index rose 14.75, or 0.96 percent, to 1,557.59. The advance put the S&P 500 ahead of the previous record close of 1,553.08, which occurred July 19 before stocks began a broad retrenchment amid concerns about credit, housing and the overall economy. The S&P 500

WASHINGTON -- The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits shot up last week by the biggest amount in four months. The Labor Department reported a total of 317,000 applications for unemployment benefits last week, an increase of 16,000 from the previous week. It was the biggest gain since jobless claims rose by 18,000 during the week of May 9. The rise was bigger than analysts had been expecting and could be a further sign that the labor market is slowing under the impact of the worst slump in housing in 16 years and a severe credit crunch

OIL prices fell today in Asia, extending a decline from the previous session that came after an unexpected increase in US crude oil inventories. Light, sweet crude for November delivery fell 28 cents to US$79.66 a barrel in Asian electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange by midday in Singapore. The Nymex crude contract fell 11 cents to settle at US$79.94 a barrel in yesterday's floor session. Crude oil futures have fallen four straight days after trading at near record levels last week. The weekly inventory report from the US Energy Department's Energy Information Administration was mixed, analysts said. Crude oil supplies unexpectedly rose in the week ended Sept. 28. Gasoline and distillate inventories unexpectedly fell. And while the drop in gasoline supplies is supportive, demand for the fuel is falling, and that will pressure gasoline prices and crude futures down the road, analysts said. The EIA said in its report that crude supplies rose 1.2 million barrels last week. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires, on average, had predicted that inventories fell 400,000 barrels. One million barrels of that increase were on the West Coast, the EIA said. Oil and gas infrastructure there is isolated from the rest of the country, though, and that might mean shortages elsewhere would support prices. Gasoline inventories fell 100,000 barrels last week, while supplies of distillates, which include heating oil and diesel fuel, fell 1.2 million barrels. Analysts had expected gasoline inventories to grow 400,000 barrels, and distillate supplies to increase 700,000 barrels. Refinery utilization rose by 0.6 percentage points to 87.5 percent of capacity. Analysts had expected an 0.4 percentage point increase. Oil's true value is closer to US$65 a barrel, said Tim Evans, an analyst at Citigroup Inc in New York, instead of at the near US$80 a barrel or higher range it has been trading. Many analysts feel oil prices have been driven up by speculative buying, and they argue that the market's underlying supply and demand fundamentals do not support the record prices of recent weeks. However, while many analysts expect oil prices to begin a seasonal decline into winter, few are willing to predict when that slide will begin. Oil prices normally drop off every year in the period between the northern summer driving season and the US and European winter. November Brent crude fell 23 cents to US$76.95 a barrel on the ICE futures

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level since early May in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number of initial claims in the week ending September 22 fell 15,000 to 298,000. It's the lowest level since the week ended May 12. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to rise 9,000 to 320,000. Claims in the previous week were revised to an decrease of 7,000 to 313,000 compared with the initial estimate of a fall of 9,000 to 311,000. The four-week average of initial claims fell 9,750 to 311,500. Meanwhile, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits rose 11,000 to 2.55 million in the week ending September 15. The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 5,500 to 2.57 million.

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) - Oil and gas shares rose Wednesday after Chevron set plans for a $15 billion stock buyback and traders kept an eye on an expected drop in U.S. fuel inventories. Oil rose 94 cents to $80.47 on the Nymex, after touching a one-week low in the previous session. The Amex Oil Index rose 1% to 1,459. The Amex Natural Gas Index rose 0.5% to 517. The Energy Department is expected to show a decrease of about 2.15 million barrels of crude-oil supplies in the past week. Meanwhile, the broader market rose despite weak durable goods data amid optimism over a tentative pact between the United Auto Works and General Motors after a two-day strike. Chevron Corp. rose $1.41 to $93.19 after setting plans to buy back up to $15 billion in stock. The stock is nearing its 52-week high of $95.50.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. wholesalers' inventories rose by 0.2% in July, climbing at a slower pace than the previous month as automotive, petroleum and other stockpiles fell, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Sales at the wholesale level rose by 0.1%. Wholesale sales of petroleum outpaced inventories in July, rising by 1.5%. Inventories of petroleum dropped by 0.1% in July. In the past year, total wholesale inventories are up 5.5%. Sales are up 7.2%.