News for Producer Price Index
Mar 17 · 11:01:00 AM
Producer prices fell more steeply than expected in February as energy costs fell, giving the Federal Reserve leeway to hold interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period as it has promised. The Labor Department on Wednesday said the index for prices paid at the farm and factory gate fell 0.6 percent, the largest decline since July, after increasing 1.4 percent in January. Even excluding volatile energy and food costs, core producer prices rose just 0.1 percent last month.
Price producer price pressure is pretty moderate.
Feb 18 · 10:09:00 AM · Source: AP
Wholesale prices shot up at double the expected pace in January, propelled higher by big increases in energy costs. The Labor Department said Thursday that wholesale prices rose 1.4 percent last month, reflecting higher costs for gasoline and other energy products. Private economists had expected a 0.7 percent increase.
The surprisingly big increase was looked at as a temporary blip and not the start of inflation problems, analysts said.
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