Inflation slowed slightly to 2.8% in February ahead of Federal Reserve meeting

Inflation cooled slightly in February even as the pace of price growth remained well above the Federal Reserve’s goal ahead of the central bank’s policy meeting next week.

The Labor Department on Wednesday said that the consumer price index (CPI) – a broad measure of how much everyday goods like gasoline, groceries and rent cost – increased 0.2% in February compared with last month, while it rose 2.8% on an annual basis.

Both the annual and monthly increases in headline inflation were cooler than the expectations of LSEG economists.

So-called core prices, which include more volatile measurements of gasoline and food to better assess price growth trends, were up 0.2% from the prior month and 3.1% on an annual basis, slower than the estimates of LSEG economists.

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