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 volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale prices fell 0.1% last month from January, first drop since July. Core producer prices rose 3.4%, lower than the 3.8% year-over-year gain in January. The numbers were all lower than economists had expected.