Fed rate cuts seen starting in March as inflation cools

(Reuters) - Traders on Friday stuck to the view that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates in March after government data showed price pressures continued to cool last month, bringing the Fed's preferred measure of inflation closer to its 2% goal.    Futures contracts tied to the Fed's policy rate reflected bets for a better-than-80% chance of a March start to rate cuts after a government report showed the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index increased 2.6% from a year earlier, after rising 2.9% in October.

(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Toby Chopra)