US PPI at 0.2% Continues Muted Streak of Inflation Data

August 9, 2019 Share Print 0

U.S. producer prices increased moderately in July, lifted by a rebound in the cost of energy products, while underlying producer inflation retreated, which could allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates again next month.

The Labor Department said on Friday its producer price index for final demand rose 0.2% last month after nudging up 0.1% in June. In the 12 months through July the PPI increased 1.7% after advancing by the same margin in June.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI would rise 0.2% in July and increase 1.7% on a year-on-year basis.

Excluding the volatile food, energy and trade services components, producer prices edged down 0.1% last month. That was the first decline since October 2015 and followed an unchanged reading in June. The so-called core PPI increased 1.7% in the 12 months through July after rising 2.1% in June.

The Fed, which has a 2% inflation target, tracks the core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index for monetary policy. The core PCE price index increased 1.6% on a year-on-year basis in June and has undershot its target this year.

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse

Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.