The U.S. Commerce Department has revealed that consumer prices in February rose by a slightly smaller margin than predicted. The report showed a 0.3% increase, compared to a recently revised 0.4% increase in January. This falls short of economists' expectations that consumer prices would rise by 0.4%.
Simultaneously, February saw a slight uptick in the annual rate of consumer price growth, moving from 2.4% in January to 2.5%. This aligns with estimates made earlier.
When food and energy prices are excluded, the core consumer prices in February also rose by 0.3%, after January’s recently revised 0.5% increase. Again, this met economists' expectations. However, the year-on-year rate of core consumer price growth reduced marginally, coming in at 2.8% in February, down from a re-envisioned 2.9% in January. This is contrary to projections that the core price growth rate would remain steady at 2.8%.
The inflation metrics, which the Federal Reserve reportedly favors, were part of the Commerce Department’s larger report on personal income and spending in February.
