Consumer prices rose 2.4 percent on an annual basis in February, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday, keeping inflation in a narrow holding pattern as the Trump administration enters its second year in office.
The reading held roughly flat compared to January, which came in at approximately the same level, and marks a significant comedown from the 9.1 percent peak hit under the Biden administration in June 2022. The Federal Reserve’s official target remains 2 percent.
“Inflation is holding steady,” the Washington Times reported Wednesday morning, citing the latest Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index release.
Economists had broadly anticipated a reading near 2.4 percent. Grocery prices, energy costs, and housing remain the biggest drivers of what families actually feel at checkout and at the pump, even as the headline number continues its slow drift toward the Fed’s target.
The February data lands as the Trump White House has been pressing its economic case hard. Administration officials have pointed to job growth, deregulation, and the resumption of domestic energy production as key factors in keeping inflation from reigniting. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent reiterated earlier this month that the administration’s goal is a 3-3-3 framework: 3 percent GDP growth, a 3 percent deficit, and 3 million new barrels of oil per day.
At 2.4 percent, the CPI reading cuts both ways politically. It’s well below the highs that hammered household budgets under Biden, a comparison Republicans are quick to draw. But it also remains above the Fed’s 2 percent threshold, giving ammunition to Democrats who argue tariff policies could yet reignite price pressures.
Shelter costs, which include rent and owners’ equivalent rent, continued to be the stickiest component of the index. Food at home ticked slightly lower, offering some relief for families still adjusting to the cumulative price increases of the past four years. Energy prices stabilized, helped in part by increased domestic production and Trump’s aggressive push to unlock federal lands for drilling.
For American households, the February CPI means grocery bills and gas prices aren’t spiking the way they did in 2021 and 2022. But it also means the cumulative inflation of those years, roughly 20 percent across the Biden term, hasn’t reversed. Prices are stable but elevated.
The next CPI release, covering March data, is scheduled for mid-April.
