President Joe Biden expressed a strong degree of economic confidence even as the Consumer Price Index rose 6.0% between February 2022 and February 2023 and price pressures from household staples continued to worsen.

The month-to-month increase of 0.4% matched analysts’ forecasts, while core inflation, which factors out the more volatile food and energy categories, rose 0.5%. Food prices increased 0.4% and shelter prices increased 0.8% even as energy prices declined 0.6%, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report.