The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 percent last month, in line with expectations, after jumping 0.5 percent in January. In the 12 months through February, the CPI rose 2.2 percent, up from 2.1 percent in January.

Excluding the volatile food and energy components, the CPI gained 0.2 percent, in line with expectations, after accelerating 0.3 percent in January. The year-on-year increase in the so-called core CPI was unchanged at 1.8 percent in February.

At 8:43 a.m. (1243 GMT), the yield on 10-year government notes was 2.837 percent, down from 2.870 percent at Monday's close.