U.S. producer prices showed a broad-based gain in April, which pushed the annual increase up to the largest advance in five years, government data showed.
The Labor Department said on Thursday its producer-price index for final demand rose 0.5% last month, exceeding average economists’ estimates polled by MarketWatch for a rise of 0.2% in April.
PPI’s April gain was the largest since January and followed a 0.1% decline in March.
With last month’s jump in prices, the PPI shot up 2.5% in the 12 months through April. That was the biggest gain since February 2012 and followed a 2.3% rise in March.
Nearly half of the advance in the PPI came from core prices.
So-called core PPI, which excludes food, energy prices and trade, rose 0.7% in April after a 0.1% gain in March. Core PPI increased 2.1% in the 12 months through April after advancing 1.7% in March.
Both these gains are records since the government released the new PPI data in August 2013.
Energy prices rebounded 0.8% in April after a 2.9% drop in March. Food prices rose 0.9% for the second straight month. Prices for final demand services rose 0.4% in April after a 0.1% drop in March.
via MarketWatch
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Alfonso Esparza