Meanwhile, the University of Michigan’s measure of Americans’ expectations for inflation in five to 10 years rebounded in January to 2.5% from a record-low of 2.2% in the prior month.
Government data also showed average hourly earnings, adjusted for price changes, rose 0.6% in January from a year earlier.
A separate Labor Department report released on Thursday showed U.S. filings for unemployment benefits remained near a historically low level. Jobless claims increased by 2,000 to 205,000 last week, while the four-week average held at 212,000.
--With assistance from Chris Middleton.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.