The Producer Price Index, a wholesale inflation gauge that is being closely watched for tariff-related impacts, showed that price hikes slowed substantially 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.

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.