Investing.com - Consumer price inflation in the U.S. fell in line with forecasts in February, while prices excluding food and energy costs inched up more than expected, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the U.S. Commerce Department said that consumer prices fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% from a month earlier in February, matching expectations and following a flat reading in January.
Year-over-year, consumer prices were 1.0% higher from the same month a year earlier, above expectations for a 0.9% increase and after rising 1.4% in January.
Consumer prices, excluding food and energy costs, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.3%, beating forecasts for a gain of 0.2% and following an increase of 0.3% in January.
Core CPI increased at annualized rate of 2.3% last month, compared to expectations for 2.2% and up from 2.2% the prior month.
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.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1081 from around 1.1098 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.4083 from 1.4092 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 113.73 from 113.60 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 96.95, compared to 96.83 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a muted open. The Dow futures dipped 11 points, or 0.06%, the S&P 500 futures lost 3 points, or 0.11%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures slumped 2 points, or 0.04%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,229.80 a troy ounce, compared to $1,233.40 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $36.89 a barrel from $37.00 earlier.