UPDATE 1-Canada inflation rate ticks up in February on gas prices

Adds details, CAD reax, analyst comment

OTTAWA, March 17 (Reuters) - Inflation in Canada edged higher in February on rising gasoline prices, though the slight acceleration missed analyst expectations, data from Statistics Canada showed on Wednesday.

Canada's annual inflation rate rose to 1.1%, from 1.0% in January. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the annual rate to rise to 1.3% in February.

All three core measures of inflation were steady in February. CPI common, which the Bank of Canada says is the best gauge of the economy's underperformance, was flat at 1.3%.

"From the Bank of Canada's perspective, all three of their preferred core measures are still at or below their target range," said Nathan Janzen, a senior economist at RBC Economist. "So I don't know that it changes a whole lot right now."

Gas prices rose for the third consecutive month, Statscan said. Excluding gasoline, annual inflation rose 1.0% in February, down from 1.3% in January.

The Canadian dollar CAD= was trading 0.1% lower at 1.2464 to the greenback, or 80.23 U.S. cents, but holding near an earlier three-year high.

(Reporting by Julie Gordon and Steve Scherer in Ottawa, additional reporting by Fergal Smith in Toronto and Allison Lampert in Montreal, editing by Louise Heavens and Nick Zieminski)

((julie.gordon@thomsonreuters.com; 343-961-4020;))