Consumer Prices Rise 0.4% in February

Consumer prices rose more than forecast in gaining 0.4% in February, the Labor Department said Wednesday.

The gain in the consumer price index, the government’s main gauge of inflation, was the biggest since July and topped economists’ forecasts of a 0.3% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Prices rose 0.3% in January. The February core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2% for a second straight month.

The CPI is the government’s broadest gauge of costs for goods and services. Almost 60% of the CPI covers prices consumers pay for services.

If consumer prices are climbing, it could reflect an increase in demand for consumer goods, which increases the demand for trucking services.