Underlying US inflation topped forecasts for a second month in February as prices jumped for used cars, air travel and clothes, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to cutting interest rates. The so-called core consumer price index (CPI), which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.4 per cent from January, according to government data out on March 12. From a year ago, it advanced 3.8 per cent.That measure climbed 0.4 per cent from January and 3.
2 per cent from a year ago, boosted by petrol prices, Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) figures showed. After a brisk January reading, the report adds to evidence that inflation is proving stubborn, which is keeping central bankers wary of easing policy too soon. Fed chair Jerome Powell suggested earlier in March that he and his colleagues are getting close to the level of confidence they need to start lowering rates, but some officials have expressed they would like to see a broader pullback in prices firs