U.S. consumer prices increased moderately in February as higher shelter costs were partially offset by cheaper airline fares, giving the Federal Reserve room to keep interest rates unchanged next week while monitoring the economic impact of a trade war.

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.