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.

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.

Wholesale Producer Price Index inflation stayed flat in February while economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a 0.3% increase. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday PPI inflation was 3.2% for the 12 months ended in February.

While the overall producer price index came in flat, prices for goods increased by 0.3% in February, while services costs declined by 0.2%. On an annual basis, the PPI increased by 3.2%, down from 3.7% a month earlier. The flat reading for February beat expectations of economists, who had forecast an increase of 0.3% for the month.

Global stocks rose on Wednesday with U.S. Treasury yields as relief over cooler U.S. inflation in February was countered by uncertainty around U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff policies and their potential impact on inflation and global growth.

Stock markets mostly rose Wednesday on both sides of the Atlantic as investors shrugged off Washington's latest tariffs to focus on cooling US inflation and a Ukraine ceasefire plan.

U.S. stock index futures rose on Wednesday, steadying after the previous session's volatility as investors assessed the impact of President Donald Trump's protectionist tariffs on base metal imports and looked ahead to a key inflation report.

U.S. stock indexes rose Wednesday after Wall Street got some relief from an encouraging inflation update. But even on a rare up day for the market, President Donald Trump’s trade war still knocked stocks around.