WASHINGTON: Inflation pressures at the wholesale level receded somewhat in April, easing back from the March record partly due to a retreat in US prices for gasoline and vegetables, according to government data released Thursday.
The producer price index (PPI) rose just 0.5 percent compared to March, far slower than the prior two months, the Labor Department reported.
But wholesale inflation was 11 percent in the 12 months that ended in April, only slightly below the all-time high of 11.2 percent seen in March, according to the report.
And the data showed signs of price pressures continuing to build in the pipeline.
After the retreat in consumer prices reported Wednesday, economists say surging US inflation, spurred by the war in Ukraine and its impact on energy and food prices, may have peaked in March.
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But Mahir Rasheed of Oxford Economics was more cautious, warning that “price pressures remained high.”
“With demand remaining fairly buoyant and the supply side of the economy facing persistent supply-side headwinds, it may be too early to celebrate,” he said in an analysis.
Prices have been accelerating for months as the US economy recovered from the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns and demand outstripped supply, but restrictions in China have raised concerns that the global supply snarls may worsen.
PPI for gasoline fell 3.2 percent last month, while prices for cars and jet fuel increased, with eggs soaring 82 percent in the month, according to the report.
Stripping out volatile items such as food and energy, PPI rose 0.6 percent in the month and 6.9 percent over the year.
Prices for intermediate goods, which indicates inflation pressures in the pipeline, were up sharply, the data showed.
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