As measured by CPI, inflation in the US is set to rise at an annual pace of 2.9% in February, down slightly from 3.0% reported in January. Core CPI inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy categories, is expected to ease to 3.2% in the same period from a year earlier, compared to a 3.3% growth in January.

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.

US consumer price inflation data for February came in slightly below expectations across the board. However, while the Fed does not target this index, price pressures are still too strong to warrant a near-term Fed cut. The data does ease fears of resurgent inflation that resulted from a high January CPI reading.