February inflation measured by the Consumer Price Index Wednesday was 2.8% annually and was up a lower than expected 0.2% for the month, seasonally adjusted.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices fell 0.1% last month from January, first drop since July. Core producer prices rose 3.4%, lower than the 3.8% year-over-year gain in January. The numbers were all lower than economists had expected.

Inflation slowed more than expected in February and cooled for the first time in four months, but that progress may be short lived as President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war, which threatens to increase prices for Americans.

The readout comes as President Donald Trump ramps up his trade war with a wide range of U.S. trade partners, threatening to send inflation higher. He has effectively imposed 25% t

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, steadying after the previous session's volatility as investors assessed the impact of President Donald Trump's protectionist tariffs on base metal imports and looked ahead to a key inflation report.

U.S. stock indexes rose Wednesday after Wall Street got some relief from an encouraging inflation update. But even on a rare up day for the market, President Donald Trump’s trade war still knocked stocks around.