An index designed to anticipate cyclical turning points in inflation decreased in February. At the same time, a smoothed version of the annualized growth rate slipped further into negative territory in February to a negative reading of 3.3% from an unrevised negative reading of 2.8% in January. The Economic Cycle Research Institute said Friday that its Future Inflation Gauge decreased to 118.7 in February from an downward-revised 119.4 (previously reported at 119.5) in January. The gauge was pulled down in February mainly by disinflationary moves in measures of jobs and vendor performance partly offset by inflationary moves in a measure of commodity prices and interest rates. "The U.S. future inflation gauge remains in a cyclical downswing that began in the fall of 2005," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director at ECRI. "Thus, U.S. inflation pressures continue to retreat."