INSTANT VIEW: U.S. consumer prices rose in Feb

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer prices rose in February on higher gasoline and apparel prices, government data showed on Wednesday, calming fears of deflation for now.

KEY POINTS: * The Labor Department said its closely watched Consumer Price Index rose 0.4 percent, the biggest monthly gain since last July, after increasing 0.3 percent in January. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast headline CPI rising 0.3 percent. * Core prices, which exclude food and energy items, increased 0.2 percent in February after rising by the same margin the prior month. That compared to analysts' prediction for a 0.1 percent increase.

COMMENTS:

SCOTT BROWN, CHIEF ECONOMIST, RAYMOND JAMES & ASSOCIATES, ST PETERSBURG, FLORIDA:

"The CPI was a little bit higher than anticipated but was not a big miss and doesn't indicate inflation is getting out of hand."

"I don't think we will see much bond market reaction, because we are all waiting on the Fed."

ZACH PANDL, ECONOMIST, NOMURA SECURITIES INTERNATIONAL, NEW YORK:

CPI: "It's in line with some of the other price measures we've received. Prices are falling at a slower pace than in the fourth quarter. We are not going to get a resurgence in inflation. The one-time shock from lower commodity prices and stronger dollar late last year has faded. We haven't slipped into a worrisome deflation situation."

CURRENT ACCOUNT: "United States seemed to have benefited from a weaker dollar in the fourth quarter and better returns on investments overseas, which is helping the U.S. account deficit. But this is going to fade this year."

PETER KENNY, MANAGING DIRECTOR, KNIGHT EQUITY MARKETS, JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY:

"The numbers are within expectations, which is a positive. If there were alarming negative or sharp upticks, that would be bad. They're pretty much in line; the markets expected this. Equity futures have not moved, they were a little weak earlier, primarily as a result of overseas. These are manageable numbers, very manageable for the equity markets."

MARKET REACTION: STOCKS: U.S. equity index futures hold losses. BONDS: U.S. Treasury debt prices edge lower on long end . DOLLAR: U.S. dollar extends gains versus euro.