A jump in energy costs pushed U.S. consumer prices up 0.4 percent in February, a fresh sign that inflation is picking up.
The Labor Department said the core consumer price index, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, rose 0.3 percent. It was the biggest rise since September and broke a string of four straight gains of 0.2 percent.
Wall Street economists had expected the index to rise just 0.3 percent overall and 0.2 percent excluding food and energy.
