• Underlying US inflation topped forecasts for a second month in February as prices jumped for used cars, air travel and clothes, reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s cautious approach to cutting interest rates.
  The so-called core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 0.4% from January, according to government data out Tuesday. From a year ago, it advanced 3.8%.
• Economists see the core gauge as a better indicator of underlying inflation than the overall CPI. That measure climbed 0.4% from January and 3.2% from a year ago, boosted by gasoline prices, Bureau of Labor Statistics figures showed.
• Core CPI over the past three months rose an annualized 4.2%, the most since June.