Consumer prices fall record 1% on record energy drop (by Ruth Mantell)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- U.S. consumer prices declined a record 1% in October, seasonally adjusted, as energy prices fell a record 8.6%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Data on the overall CPI date back to 1947, and the energy data go back to 1957. Meanwhile, food prices in October rose 0.3%, the smallest gain since May. The core consumer price index - which excludes food and energy prices - fell 0.1%, the first time there's been a decline in the core rate since 1982. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had expected the overall October CPI to fall 0.9%, and for the core to rise 0.1%.