The U.S. annual inflation rate eased to 6 percent in February, down from 6.4 percent in January, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
This matched economists’ expectations and is the lowest reading since September 2021.
The core consumer price index (CPI), which strips the volatile food and energy sectors, slowed to 5.5 percent, down from 5.6 percent. This also was in line with market estimates.
On a month-over-month basis, the CPI climbed 0.5 percent and the core CPI rose 0.5 percent.
The food index eased to 9.5 percent year-over-year and jumped 0.4 percent from December to January. The energy index was 5.2 percent higher than at the same time a year ago and it fell 0.6 percent month-over-month….