Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the U.S. rose in line with expectations in February, while prices excluding food and energy costs also inched up modestly, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the U.S. Department of Labor said that consumer prices rose by as a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, matching forecasts, after rising 0.1% in January.
Year-over-year, consumer prices rose at an annualized rate of 1.1% in February, below expectations for 1.2% and down from 1.6% in January.
Consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, meeting estimates. Core consumer prices rose 0.1% in January.
Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 1.6% in February, unchanged from January and in line with expectations.
Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The central bank usually tries to aim for 2% core inflation or less.
Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.04% to trade at 1.3928.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a gain of 0.25%, S&P 500 futures indicated a rise of 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures signaled an increase of 0.2%.