Consumer Prices Rise in February

March 21, 2003 9:00 AM, EST

Prices paid by U.S. consumers rose 0.6% in February as the threat of war and oil supply disruptions forced a ramp-up in energy prices, the Labor Department reported Friday.

CPI, the most commonly watched gauge on inflation, made its biggest gain since January 2001 when it also rose by 0.6%.

The “core” CPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose just 0.1% — matching the gain it made in January.

In January, the overall CPI rose a revised 0.3%, Labor said.

A 5.9% increase in energy prices helped drive the CPI up, Labor said. The increase was the largest since June 2000 and followed up a 4% rise in January. Gasoline prices skyrocketed 9.9% during February, also the most since June 2000, Labor reported. Gas prices rose 6.6% in January.

Analysts told Bloomberg that colder weather, rising oil prices, tightening inventories and supply fears drove up oil prices in the months leading up the U.S.-led war in Iraq.

Despite the large increase in CPI, analysts told Bloomberg that inflation was likely still in check because the war was putting unusual pressure on the energy markets.