The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, suggesting the labor market was slowing, but probably not to the extent implied by a near-stall in job growth in February. While other data on Thursday showed import prices rising by the most in nine months in February, the trend in imported inflation remained weak. Import prices dropped on a year-on-year basis for a third straight month in February. The stream of data remains broadly supportive of the Federal Reserve’s pledge to be “patient” before raising interest rates further this year. “Right now the ... (full story)