Key Fed inflation gauge jumps 5.4% in February, biggest gain since 1983.

Core prices, which exclude the more volatile measurements of food and energy, soared by 5.4% in the year through February, according to the personal consumption expenditures price index data released Friday morning. That measurement is the Fed’s preferred gauge to track inflation; it marks the 11th consecutive month the measure has been above the central bank’s target range of 2%…………….