U.S. wholesale inflation decelerated last month, suggesting that price pressures are easing for now. But the progress may not last as President Donald Trump intensifies his trade wars.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that its producer price index — which tracks inflation before it reaches consumers — was unchanged from January after rising 0.6% the month before. Compared to a year earlier, producer prices were up 3.2%, down from a year-over-year gain of 3.7% in January.

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.

The readout comes as Trump ramps up his trade war with a wide range of U.S. trade partners, threatening to send inflation higher. He has effectively imposed 25% taxes — tariffs — on foreign steel and aluminum and has plastered 20% levies on Chinese imports. In coming weeks, he is set to impose 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and to introduce “reciprocal tariffs’’ that match higher taxes that other countries slap on U.S. products. And on Thursday the president threatened a 200% on European wine, champagne and spirits if Europe goes ahead with a tariff on U.S. whiskey.

Major retailers have warned that they expect U.S. consumers to pull back spending this year in the face of higher costs, partially from Trump’s tariffs.

On Wednesday, the Labor Department said that consumer price inflation slowed last month for the first time since September. The consumer price index was up 2.8% from a year ago, down from a 3% year-over-year increase in January. Core consumer prices rose 3.1% from a year earlier, smallest increase since April 2021.

Wholesale gasoline prices fell 4.7% last month. Food prices rose 1.7% from January to February, led by a 28% surge in the price of eggs.

— Associated Press

Discount Spirit Airlines exits bankruptcy

Discount carrier Spirit Airlines has emerged from bankruptcy protection.

The budget airline — known for its no-frills, low-cost flights on a fleet of yellow planes — said Wednesday that its parent, Spirit Aviation Holdings, exited Chapter 11 after finalizing debt restructuring. The reorganization plan, which received the court greenlight last month, aims to bring the carrier back to profitability and boost resources to compete with rivals.

“We’re emerging as a stronger and more focused airline,” CEO Ted Christie, who will continue to lead Spirit post-bankruptcy, said in a statement.

The restructuring deal allows Spirit to convert $795 million of its debt into equity. The company says it’s also received a $350 million equity investment from existing investors to aid future operations.

Spirit filed for bankruptcy back in November, following years of struggles as it failed to bounce back from the COVID-19 pandemic. The Florida carrier was hit hard by rising operating expenses and stiffer competition. By the time of its Chapter 11 filing, the airline had lost more than $2.5 billion since the start of 2020.

Mortgage rates rise, ending 7-week slide

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage in the U.S. edged higher this week, ending a seven-week slide that helped ease borrowing costs for home shoppers leading into the spring homebuying season.

The rate averaged 6.65% this week, up from 6.63% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, it averaged 6.74%.

Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners seeking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate, also ticked up this week. The average rate rose to 5.8% from 5.79% last week. A year ago, it averaged 6.16%, Freddie Mac said.

Fewer in U.S. seek jobless benefits

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, indicating a still-healthy U.S. labor market.

U.S. jobless claims filings fell by 2,000 to 220,000 for the week ending March 8, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s fewer than the 226,000 new applications analysts forecast.

It’s not clear when job cuts ordered by the Department of Government Efficiency will show up in the weekly layoffs report, though some analysts expect them to surface in data in the coming weeks.

Those layoffs are part of the Trump administration’s efforts to shrink the size of the federal workforce through billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

FTC changes mind on Amazon Prime case

A lawyer for the Federal Trade Commission has walked back his comments about a lack of resources and staff turnover interfering with the agency’s preparations for a trial involving Amazon’s Prime program.

FTC lawyer Jonathan Cohen asked a federal judge during a hearing on Wednesday to delay the September trial and relax deadlines in the case, citing budgetary and staffing shortfalls.

But Cohen did an about-face later in the day, telling U.S. District Judge John Chun in a brief letter that the statements he made in court were incorrect.

“I want to clarify comments I made today: I was wrong,” Cohen wrote in the letter. “The commission does not have resource constraints and we are fully prepared to litigate this case.”

In a statement sent to The Associated Press on Thursday, FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson also said “the attorney was wrong.”

— From news services