By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge ticked up in November in the latest sign that prices remain stubbornly elevated.

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Consumer prices rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from a 2.7% annual pace in October. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also increased 2.8% in November from a year ago, slightly higher than October’s 2.7%.

Inflation has fallen sharply from a four-decade high in 2022 but has mostly leveled off in the past two years.

Still, on a monthly basis prices were milder: Both overall inflation and core inflation moved up just 0.2% in November from October. At that pace, over time inflation would move closer to the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. Thursday’s data was delayed by the six-week government shutdown last fall.

Also on Thursday, the government said that the economy expanded at a healthy 4.4% annual rate in the July-September quarter, the fastest growth in two years.