WASHINGTON — Consumer prices were unchanged in November, the best performance since prices actually fell eight months ago. The docile inflation reading reflected a big drop in the cost of gasoline and other energy products.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that the unchanged inflation reading last month followed a 0.3 percent jump in prices in October. It was the lowest reading since consumer prices actually fell 0.1 percent in March.

Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2 percent in November.

Over the past 12 months, consumer prices have risen 2.2 percent and core prices are also up 2.2 percent. That performance is close to the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target for annual price gains and indicates that inflation remains well-behaved.