AP Top News at 9:21 a.m. EST

AP Top News at 9:21 a.m. EST

Consumer prices excluding food and energy fall

WASHINGTON — Consumer prices rose less than expected in January while prices excluding food and energy actually fell, something that hasn’t happened in more than a quarter-century. The Labor Department said Friday that consumer prices edged up 0.2 percent in January while prices excluding food and energy slipped 0.1 percent. That was the first monthly decline since December 1982.