The Labor Department announced on Tuesday the U.S. consumer price index
(CPI) went up 0.4 percent m-o-m in February, following an unrevised 0.5 percent m-o-m increase in the previous month.
Over the last 12 months, the CPI surged 6.0 percent y-o-y, easing from an
unrevised jump of 6.4 percent y-o-y reported for the period ending in January. That
marked the weakest 12-month rise since September 2021 (+5.4 percent).
Economists had predicted the U.S. CPI to rise by 0.4 percent m-o-m and 6.0
percent y-o-y in the 12-month period.
According to the report, the February m-o-m gain in all items index was
mainly driven by a rise in the index for shelter (+0.8 percent m-o-m). In
addition, the indexes for food (+0.4 percent m-o-m), recreation (+0.9 percent
m-o-m), and household furnishings and operations (+0.8 percent m-o-m) also
contributed to the increase. These gains, however, were partly offset by a drop
in the energy index (-0.6 percent m-o-m).
Meanwhile, the core CPI excluding volatile food and fuel costs soared 0.5
percent m-o-m in February after an
unrevised 0.4 percent m-o-m gain in the previous month.
In the 12 months through February, the core CPI climbed 5.5 percent, following
an unrevised 5.6 percent surge for the 12 months ending January. That represented
the weakest 12-month advance since December 2021 (+5.5 percent).
Economists had forecast the core CPI to increase by 0.4
percent m-o-m and 5.5 percent y-o-y last month.