CNN  —  Higher gas and energy costs resulted in US wholesale inflation coming in hotter than expected last month. The Producer Price Index, which measures the average change in prices that businesses pay to suppliers, rose 1.6% for the 12 months ended in February, jumping from a 1% increase in January, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday. On a monthly basis, PPI rose 0.6%. That’s double economists’ expectations for prices to rise 0.3% for the month. When stripping out food and energy prices — categories that tend to be more volatile — “core” PPI rose 0.3% for the month, a slowdown from a 0.5% jump in January. On an annual basis, core wholesale inflation measured 2%, in line with the yearly increase seen in January.