Figures released Wednesday reveal underlying U.S. inflation increased more than expected in February as rents and medical costs maintained their upward trend, which could keep the Federal Reserve on course gradually to raise interest rates this year..
The U.S. Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index, excluding the volatile food and energy components, increased 0.3% last month after a similar gain in January.
In the 12 months through February, the so-called core CPI rose 2.3%, the largest gain since May 2012, after increasing 2.2% in January. Economists had forecast the core CPI rising 0.2% last month and increasing 2.2% from a year ago.
While the Fed is expected stand pat at the end of Wednesday's two-day policy meeting, stirring inflation, a steady housing sector and tightening labor market conditions have raised the probability of a rate hike in June
