U.S. producer prices fall 0.5pct in Feb.

The U.S. producer prices fell for four straight months in February, the latest sign for weak inflationary pressures in the U.S.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), a gauge of inflation at the factory gate, fell 0.5 percent in February, following a 0.8 percent decline in January, the Labor Department said Friday.

Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, the so-called "core" PPI went down 0.5 percent, compared with a 0.1-percent decline in January.

In the month, about 70 percent of the decline in PPI can be attributed to a 0.5-percent decrease in index for final demand services, said the Labor Department. Prices for final demand goods also moved down 0.4 percent.

On a year-on-year basis, the PPI declined 0.6 percent in February, while the index had no change in the previous month.

The low inflation pressure will be a factor as policy makers weigh when to start raising short-term interest rates. Federal Reserve chair Yellen has said that recent drop in inflation was mainly due to oil price drop, and that the Fed is reasonably confident that inflation will move back over the medium term toward the objective, as the labor market conditions continue to improve further. Endi