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US consumer inflation was likely high in February, and rising fuel prices will turn up the pressure
February’s consumer price index is the last important look at inflation before Federal Reserve officials meet next week, and it’s going to be a scorcher. Economists expect headline inflation rose 0.7% last month, or 7.8% on an annualized basis, according to estimates from Dow Jones. That’s compared to January’s increase of 0.6% or 7.5% year over year. Excluding energy and food, core CPI was expected to be up 0.5%, below January’s 0.6% gain. Core inflation is expected to be 6.4% year over year, up from 6%. CPI is released Thursday at 8:30 a.m. ET. The data is especially important to markets because it is the ... (full story)