Within the goods component, food cost advanced 5.9 percent in February, following a 5.5 percent rise in January and prices of non-food products rose 4.6 percent, after a 4.5 percent gain in the previous month. Also, services inflation picked up to 5.1 percent in February from 5 percent in January.
Annual core inflation rate climbed to 4.4 percent in February from 4.1 percent in the previous month. It was the highest rate since March of 2017.
On a monthly basis, consumer prices went up 0.4 percent, after a 1 percent rise in prior month and matching market consensus. Upward pressure came from all main categories: food (0.8 percent from 1.3 percent); non-food products (0.3 percent from 0.6 percent); and services (0.2 percent vs 1.1 percent).