AP PHOTO A worker organizes items at a Walmart Supercenter in North Bergen, N.J., on Feb. 9. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reports on U.S. consumer prices for February.

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer price increases eased slightly from January to February but still pointed to an elevated inflation rate that is posing a challenge for the Federal Reserve at a delicate moment for the financial system.

The government said Tuesday that prices increased 0.4 percent last month, just below January’s 0.5 percent rise. Yet excluding volatile food and energy costs, so-called core prices rose 0.5 percent in February, slightly above January’s 0.4 percent gain. The Fed pays particular attention to the core measure as a gauge of underlying inflation pressures.

Even though prices are rising much faster than the Fed wants, some economists expect the central bank to suspend its year-long streak of interest rate hikes when it meets next week. With the collapse of two large banks since Friday fueling anxiety about other regional banks, the Fed, for now, may focus more on boosting confidence in the financial system than on its long-term drive to tame inflation.

That is a sharp shift from just a week ago, when Chair Jerome Powell suggested to a Senate committee that if inflation didn’t cool, the Fed could raise its benchmark interest rate by a substantial half-point at its meeting March 21-22. When the Fed raises its key rate, it typically leads to higher rates on mortgages, auto loans, credit cards and many business loans.

When measured against prices a year ago, inflation has been easing for eight months. In February, consumer prices climbed 6 percent from 12 months earlier, down from January’s 6.4 percent year-over-year increase and well below a recent peak of 9.1 percent in June. Yet it remains far above the Fed’s 2 percent annual inflation target. Core prices in February rose 5.5 percent from 12 months ago, down slightly from 5.6 percent in January.

Nearly three-quarters of last month’s price increase was driven by housing costs. But most economists expect rental cost increases to slow in the coming months as more apartment buildings are constructed and new leases are signed at lower price levels. Such a decline could further slow inflation.