U.S. producer prices rose marginally in July as a decline in the cost of energy goods offset higher food prices, pointing to a moderation of inflation pressures at the factory gate.
The Labor Department said on Friday its producer price index for final demand edged up 0.1 percent after a 0.4 percent rise in June. The increase was in line with economists’ expectations.
Producer inflation data has been volatile since the government revamped the PPI series at the start of the year to include services and construction.
Swings in prices received for trade services, a gauge of margins for retailers and wholesalers, have made it hard to see a clear trend in producer prices.
Overall, inflation has been rising in recent months, a fact acknowledged by the Federal Reserve at its July policy meeting. The U.S. central bank, which had repeatedly warned that price pressures were too low, said the likelihood of inflation running persistently below its 2 percent target had diminished somewhat.
In the 12 months through July, producer prices increased 1.7 percent after rising by 1.9 percent in the year to June.
Last month, prices at the factory gate were held back by declining energy prices. Gasoline prices fell 2.1 percent last month after rising 6.4 percent in June. Food prices increased 0.4 percent in July.
via Reuters
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.