WASHINGTON (AP) - Consumer prices edged up slightly faster than expected in October, driven higher by another increase in energy prices and the biggest jump in new car prices in 28 years.

Still, prices are lower than they were a year ago and inflation is expected to remain subdued as the economy struggles to emerge from a deep recession.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in October, a bit more than the 0.2 percent economists had expected. Core inflation, which excludes energy and food, rose 0.2 percent, compared to analysts' expectation for a 0.1 percent rise in core prices.