Wholesale prices were unchanged in February, offering more evidence that inflation pressures eased somewhat early in the new year.

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 annual PPI inflation was 3.