Consumer prices rose more than expected in September as food and energy costs surged, new government data show. According to the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data, the annual inflation rate climbed to a 13-year high of 5.4 percent last month, coming in higher than the median estimate of 5.3 percent. On a month-over-month basis, the consumer price index (CPI) rose 0.4 percent, slightly higher than the market forecast of 0.3 percent. The core inflation rate, which eliminates the volatile food and energy sectors, surged 4 percent, matching economists’ expectations. This was unchanged from the previous month. Energy prices soared 24.8 percent over the last 12 months, with all the major energy component indexes spiking on an annualized basis. Gasoline increased 42.1 percent, natural gas advanced 20.6 percent, and the index for electricity rose 5.2 percent. Food had been one of the other primary drivers of rising prices, soaring …