Energy prices nudge US CPI inflation higher in February

(Sharecast News) - The cost of living in the U.S. was little changed last month but did not dip as much as anticipated amid the rising cost of energy. According to the Department of Labor, headline consumer prices increased at a 0.4% month-on-month pace in February.

That served to push the year-on-year rate of increase from 3.1% in January to 3.2%.

Core CPI also rose by 0.4%, so that the annual rate of increase only ticked lower by one tenth of a percentage from January's pace to 3.8% (consensus: 3.7%).

A 2.3% jump in energy prices pushed headline CPI higher, while food prices were unchanged on the month.

At the core level, user car and truck prices rose by 0.5% on the month, those for apparel bounced back by 0.6% and those for services less energy services were 0.5% higher.

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