US inflation fell more than expected to 2.8 per cent in February, bolstering the case for Federal Reserve to cut interest rates amid signs of slowing growth in the world’s largest economy. Wednesday’s annual consumer price index figure was below both January’s 3 per cent and the 2.9 per cent expected by economists, according to a Reuters poll.

Core wholesale prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, declined by 0.1 per cent from January—marking the first monthly decrease since July. On a yearly basis, core prices rose 3.4 per cent, down from 3.8 per cent in January, indicating a gradual cooling of inflationary pressures.