WASHINGTON: US wholesale price inflation shot up 7.3 percent for the 12 months ended in June, its largest-ever yearly increase since the Labor Department began tracking it more than a decade ago, data said Wednesday.

Compared to June, the producer price index (PPI) last month rose one percent, seasonally adjusted, much higher than expected and above the 0.8 percent month-on-month increase seen in May.

The data will fuel speculation over whether the United States is set for prolonged inflation as vaccines allow its economy to rebound from business restrictions imposed last year to stop Covid-19, which caused a record economic collapse.

US retail sales fall as spending shifts back to services; producer prices rise

The Labor Department had yesterday reported the consumer price index rose 5.4 percent in the 12 months ended in June, not seasonally adjusted, its highest rate since August 2008.

In the wholesale price data, the government said nearly 60 percent of the overall increase was caused by a 0.8 percent rise in prices for services. Price for goods rose 1.2 percent, the data said.

"Core" PPI excluding the more volatile food, energy and trade services categories rose 0.5 percent in June, less than the 0.7 percent increase in May.

However, if compared to the 12 months ending last month, the increase in core PPI was 5.5 percent, the largest advance since the yearly index began in August 2014.

The overall 12-month PPI increase was not seasonally adjusted, and was its biggest climb since the Labor Department began the calculation in November 2010.