A report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed consumer prices in the U.S. increased by slightly less than expected in the month of February.
The Labor Department said its consumer price index crept up by 0.2 percent in February after climbing by 0.5 percent in January. Economists had expected consumer prices to rise by 0.3 percent.
Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index also rose by 0.2 percent in February following a 0.4 percent increase in January. Core prices were also expected to climb by 0.3 percent.
The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 2.8 percent in February from 3.0 percent in January. Economists had expected the pace of price growth to edge down to 2.9 percent.
The annual rate of core consumer price growth also slowed to 3.1 percent in February from 3.3 percent in January. Core price growth was expected to dip to 3.2 percent.
At 10:30 am ET, the Energy Information Administration is due to release its report on oil inventories in the week ended March 7th. Crude oil inventories are expected to increase by 2.1 million barrels after climbing by 3.6 million barrels in the previous week.
The Treasury Department is scheduled to announce the results of this month’s auction of $39 billion worth of ten-year notes at 1 pm ET.