Consumer Prices Rise 0.2% in February

Consumer prices rose last month at the same pace as in January and first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell, suggesting the economy is picking up speed as inflation stays tame.

Consumer prices rose 0.2% in February, matching the previous increase and leaving prices 1.1% above where they were 12 months earlier, the Labor Department said. That’s the smallest year-over-year increase since 1986.

Jobless claims declined by 12,000 last week to 371,000, the Labor Department said. The four-week moving average, considered a more reliable measure of employment conditions because it irons out weekly fluctuations, edged up to 379,000 from 376,500, but remained under the key 400,000 level. A breach of that level is considered a sign of recession.

Two other reports Thursday pointed to further growth in the economy.

The Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators was unchanged in February after four straight increases. And the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank’s index showed manufacturing expanded this month, but at a slower rate than in February.

While the overall consumer price index rose as expected, the so-called core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose a larger-than-expected 0.3%. Consumers paid more for clothing, medical care and tobacco in February, stoking the largest rise in core inflation in three months.

Consumer prices last year showed the smallest increase since 1998 because of a fall in the cost of energy. That may change in coming months.

Clothing costs rose 0.5% in February, the biggest gain since March of last year, after a 0.7% decrease in January. Prices of women’s clothing and shoes rose last month.

Food prices, which account for almost one-fifth of the index, increased for a second straight month in February, led by higher prices for fruits, vegetables, chicken and beef.

New-car prices dropped 0.9% in February.

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Consumer Price Index

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Index of Leading Economic Indicators

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