Consumer inflation in November rose at the fastest pace in more than two years, while the more closely watched core inflation, which does not include volatile food and energy prices, rose at the fastest pace since January, the Labor Department said today. Overall prices rose 0.8 pct, a tick higher than the 0.7 pct economists polled by Thomson's IFR Markets had expected and the fastest gain since September 2005. Core prices gained 0.3 pct in November after five consecutive months of 0.2 pct gains. That's the fastest rise in core inflation since January. That leaves the three months through November at a 2.6 pct seasonally adjusted annualised rate for core inflation. Core inflation has risen an unadjusted 2.3 pct in the past 12 months, in line with expectations. Overall inflation has risen an unadjusted 4.3 pct in the year through November. Energy prices rose 5.7 pct in November, the largest gain since March. Energy prices have risen at a 33.8 pct seasonally annual rate over the past three months. On an unadjusted basis, energy prices have risen 21.4 pct in the past year. Food prices rose 0.3 pct in November after pct in October. That leaves the three-month seasonally adjusted annual gain in food prices at 4.3 pct. Transportation prices rose 2.9 pct, while apparel prices rose 0.8 pct in the month. Housing prices and medical prices each rose 0.4 pct in November. Real average weekly earnings, which are adjusted for inflation, fell 0.4 pct in November, while average hourly earnings, which are not adjusted for inflation, rose 0.5 pct in the month.