With energy prices showing a substantial increase, the Labor Department released a report on Friday showing a moderate increase in U.S. consumer prices in the month of February. The Labor Department said its consumer price index rose by 0.4 percent in February following a 0.2 percent increase in January. Economists had expected the index to increase by about 0.5 percent. Excluding food and energy prices, the core consumer price index edged up by 0.1 percent in February compared to a 0.2 percent increase in the previous month. Core prices had been expected to increase by about 0.2 percent.