Inflation grew more than expected in February, according to the latest Consumer Price Index from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, thanks to higher prices at the gas pump. There was a bit of good news, though—inflation cooled in other important areas such as food and housing.
In total, prices grew by 3.2% over the 12-month period that ended in February, just a little bit higher than January’s 3.1% reading. The price of gasoline increased by 3.8%, but for the first time since April 2023, food prices did not rise.
“Inflation is like a bobsled track, it slopes down with many twists and turns,” said Sung Won Sohn, a Loyola Marymount University economics and finance professor and chief economist of SS Economics. “The uptick in the inflation rate supports the Federal Reserve’s ‘go-slow’ approach in cutting the interest rate.”
