WASHINGTON: US producer prices increased more than expected in September amid higher costs for energy products and food, but underlying inflation pressures at the factory gate continued to abate.
The mixed report from the Labor Department on Wednesday was published ahead of the release on Thursday of September’s consumer price index data, which is expected to show inflation moderated last month.
The report is being closely watched for clues on whether the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates against the backdrop of higher US Treasury yields and conflict in the Middle East.
“The Fed has not finished the job and stamped inflation out completely yet, and if anything, policymakers have their work cut out for them as much of the inflation we see in producer prices is coming from food and energy prices that monetary policy has less effect on,” said Christopher Rupkey, chief economist at FWDBONDS in New York.
The producer price index for final demand rose 0.5% last month after accelerating by an unrevised 0.7% in August.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected the PPI would gain 0.3%. In the 12 months through September, the PPI increased 2.2% after advancing 2.0% in August.
The narrower measure of PPI, which strips out food, energy and trade services components, gained 0.2% after rising by the same margin in August. The so-called core PPI increased 2.8% on a year-on-year basis in September after climbing 2.9% in August.
Wholesale goods prices increased 0.9%, with a 3.3% rise in the cost of energy products accounting for nearly three-quarters of the increase. Goods prices jumped 2.0% in August.
Gasoline prices rose 5.4%, making up more than 40% of the increase in the cost of goods. There were also increases in the prices of jet fuel, electric power and diesel fuel. Food prices rebounded 0.9%, with processed young chicken and meat costing more. But prices for fresh and dry vegetables declined 13.9%. Wood pulp and utility natural gas prices also decreased.
Excluding the volatile food and energy components, core goods prices edged up 0.1% for the second straight month. This mostly reflected the normalization of supply chains, whose disruption fueled goods inflation in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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