WASHINGTON—Energy prices continued to rocket higher in February, though overall wholesale prices moderated after a record jump in January. The Labor Department’s producer price index, which measures inflation before it reaches consumers, increased by 0.5 percent last month following a record jump of 1.3 percent the month before. Price increases slowed despite a 6 percent surge in energy last month, which followed a 5.1 percent jump in January, the Labor Department said Friday. Over the past year, wholesale prices are up 2.8 percent, the largest 12-month gain at the wholesale level in more than two years. Core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy, rose 2.5 percent over the past 12 months. Both readings are above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target for inflation. Some economists fear that inflation, which has been dormant over the past decade, could begin to rise under the extra demand generated by the government’s new …