Consumer prices rose at faster monthly and annual rates in February, according to inflation data released Tuesday by the Labor Department.
The consumer price index (CPI), a closely watched gauge of inflation, rose 3.2 percent annually in February and 0.4 percent last month alone.
More than 60 percent of February’s monthly increase in prices came from gasoline and shelter, the Bureau of Labor Statistics explained Tuesday.
The February inflation data also keeps the Federal Reserve on track to keep interest rates steady at the end of a policy meeting next week. While the Fed projected in Decemeber several rate cuts, the strength of the U.S. economy has iced those plans for now.