U.S. inflation slowed last month for the first time since September and a measure of underlying inflation fell to a four-year low, even as additional tariffs on steel and aluminum that kicked in Wednesday threaten to send prices higher.
The consumer price index increased 2.8% in February from a year ago, Wednesday’s report from the Labor Department showed, down from 3% the previous month. Core prices, which exclude the volatile food and energy categories, rose 3.1% from a year earlier, down from 3.3% in January. The core figure is the lowest since April 2021.
The declines were larger than economists expected, according to a survey by data provider FactSet. Yet they remain higher than the Federal Reserve’s 2% target. Sticky inflation could create problems for President Donald Trump, who promised during last year’s campaign to “knock the hell out of inflation.”
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