An overall 2.7 percent increase during the past 12 months in the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) is being attributed to higher gasoline prices, CNNMoney.com reported.

Fuel prices surged 53.5 percent during the past year, following a 43.1 percent decline in 2008. The overall CPI, the government’s key inflation reading, rose 0.1 percent in 2008

According to Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo Securities, prices other than housing, energy and food are increasing at the quickest pace since 1982.

In December, overall prices rose 0.1 percent, driven by a swell in prices for used automobiles. That gain, however, was less than the 0.2 percent rise that economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected.

The core CPI, which is followed closely by economists because it excludes volatile food and energy prices, also increased 0.1 percent in the month. For all of 2009, the so-called core CPI was up 1.8 percent, the same increase as in 2008.

“Core inflation was held down by housing prices,” Vitner said. “That’s likely to continue because housing is in oversupply.”

Fuel prices were up 0.2 percent in December, following a 6.4 percent rise the month before. Food prices also rose 0.2 percent for the month, after rising 0.1 percent in both October and November.

“The overall and core CPI were both well-behaved in December,” Vitner said. However, Vitner warned that despite the modest monthly increases, there are some “trouble spots beneath the surface.”