WASHINGTON – Consumer prices were up 0.4% on a seasonally adjusted basis in February, after rising 0.2% in January, the Labor Department reported Friday.
Core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy, were up 0.1% for the month, after rising 0.2% in January.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters hit the mark in projecting that CPI would climb 0.4%, but the 0.1% increase in core prices fell short of their 0.2% estimated increase.
The increased CPI level for February reflected a 3.2% climb in energy prices, including a 6.0% increase in gasoline prices. The gasoline increase accounted for 80% of the increase in the CPI, the Labor Department said.
Consumer prices were up 2.9% for 12 months ending in February, and core prices rose 2.2% over that period.
Meanwhile, real average hourly earnings fell 0.3% in February after falling 0.1% in January on a seasonally adjusted basis, the department said in a separate release
