WASHINGTON (AFX) - Producer prices rose 0.2 pct in February, while the core rate, excluding food and energy prices, was unchanged from the prior month, the Labor Department said. The gain in overall PPI was in line with expectations, while the the core rate was slightly lower than expected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for a 0.2 pct rise in the headline PPI, while the core rate was expected to rise 0.1 pct. On a year-on-year basis, the overall PPI was down 2.6 pct, while the core rate was up 0.5 pct. In January, the PPI rose 0.1 pct and the core rate fell 0.1 pct. The rise in prices was led by a rise in energy costs. Energy prices rose 0.4 pct in February, after rising 0.1 pct in January. The price of gasoline rose 4.5 pct, while heating oil prices increased 2.8 pct, and liquefied petroleum gas prices rose 1.7 pct. Offsetting these gains were a 1.6 pct drop in residential natural gas prices, and a 0.3 pct decline in residential electric power prices. Food prices rose 1.0 pct in February after rising 0.8 pct in the previous month. Among core rate items, prices for light motor trucks and pharmaceutical preparations rose, while prices for book publishing, sanitary paper products and passenger cars declined. Light motor truck prices rose 0.6 pct in February, marking the largest rise in the segment since July 2001. Pharmaceutical preparations rose 0.4 pct. Neutralizing those gains, book publishing prices dropped 1.3 pct in February, the largest drop in the segment since Oct 1996. Sanitary paper product prices fell 0.9 pct in February, while passenger car prices fell 0.2 pct in the month. Prices for goods used in the intermediate stages of production fell 0.1 pct in February, after a 0.1 pct fall in January. Excluding food and energy prices, intermediate good costs were unchanged. The cost of crude goods, primary products that require further processing, fell 0.8 pct in February, after rising 3.7 pct in January. The decline was led by natural gas prices, which fell 20.7 pct in February. Slightly offsetting those gains, prices for crude petroleum rose 13.3 pct in February, the largest increase since May 2000. And prices for slaughter cattle rose 9.6 pct, the largest increase since Oct 1985. Excluding food and energy, crude good prices rose 1.5 pct.