U.S. consumer prices increased moderately in February as higher shelter costs were partially offset by cheaper airline fares, giving the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates unchanged next week while monitoring the economic impact of a trade war.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI climbed 0.2% in February after gaining 0.4% in January. In the 12 months through February, the so-called core CPI increased 3.1%. That was the smallest gain since April 2021 and followed a 3.3% rise in January. The core CPI rose at a 3.6% rate in the three months to February.