On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers was unchanged in February, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The index is a measure of the average change over time in the price paid by urban households for a set of consumer goods and services, with movements of the indexes from one month to another expressed as percent changes rather than changes in index points.

The index has risen 2.1 percent, before seasonal adjustment, during the past 12 months, down from a 2.6 percent year-over-year gain the prior month. February marked the first month that the index hadn’t risen since March 2009, when it dropped 0.1 percent.

The index rose 0.4 percent in February, which tied it with August for the second-worst month behind June’s 0.7 percent increase.

The flattening of the index reconfirms the Federal Reserve’s forecast that inflation will remain low as the economy recovers, according to a Bloomberg.com report. (Read Wednesday’s story about potential inflation)

One economist told Bloomberg that inflation is “certainly no imminent threat to the U.S. economy.”

The unchanged index was a result of a decline in the energy index being offset by small increases in the food, medical care and used cars and truck indexes. The 12-month increase in the index for all items despite food and energy is at 1.3 percent, which is the lowest reading since February 2004.