U.S. consumer prices drop 0.1% in October (by Jeffry Bartash)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. consumer prices fell a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in October mainly because of falling gasoline costs, but "core" inflation edged up 0.1%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The core data strips out volatile food and energy categories and is used the Federal Reserve to guide its interest-rate decisions. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast CPI to be unchanged, with a 0.1% increase in the core rate. Consumer prices have risen an unadjusted 3.5% over the past 12 months, down from 3.9% in September. The core rate has risen at a slower 2.1% pace over the 12 months ended in October, but that was up from 2.0% in September. Gasoline costs dropped 3.1% last month. Food prices rose 0.1%.