Developing story. Check back for updates. The numbers: U.S. wholesale prices were unchanged in November in another sign of gradually easing inflation. Cheaper gas gave a big assist to the benign inflation report, but prices in most major categories were also muted.
Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.1% increase in the producer price index. The flat reading in wholesale inflation follows on the heels of slightly warmer consumer price report. Both inflation barometers point to a sufficient slowdown in prices to keep the Federal Reserve on hold Wednesday after its last big meeting of the year. The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Key details: Wholesale costs often foretell future inflation trends. The increase in wholesale prices over the past 12 months slowed to 0.9% from 1.2% in the prior month. A separate measure of “core” wholesale prices that strips out volatile food, energy and trade margins edged up 0.1% last month, the government said. Core prices are a better predictor of future inflation trends. The increase in these so-called core prices over the past year decelerated to 2.5% from 2.8%, marking the lowest level since February 2021. Inside the report, energy prices sank 1.2% in November after a decline in the cost of oil. That held down the headline wholesale inflation reading. Food prices rose a sharp 0.6%, however, led by a 59% increase in the price of eggs. Another outbreak of avian flu could keep egg prices high for a while. The cost of services, a big source of recent inflation, was flat in November. That might bode well for further declines in the rate of inflation. Inflation further down the pipeline was also soft. The wholesale cost of partly finished goods was unchanged while prices of raw materials dropped 1.4%. Both are negative compared to one year earlier. The PPI report captures what companies pay for supplies suc …
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Economists polled by the Wall Street Journal had forecast a 0.1% increase in the producer price index. The flat reading in wholesale inflation follows on the heels of slightly warmer consumer price report. Both inflation barometers point to a sufficient slowdown in prices to keep the Federal Reserve on hold Wednesday after its last big meeting of the year. The central bank is widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged. Key details: Wholesale costs often foretell future inflation trends. The increase in wholesale prices over the past 12 months slowed to 0.9% from 1.2% in the prior month. A separate measure of “core” wholesale prices that strips out volatile food, energy and trade margins edged up 0.1% last month, the government said. Core prices are a better predictor of future inflation trends. The increase in these so-called core prices over the past year decelerated to 2.5% from 2.8%, marking the lowest level since February 2021. Inside the report, energy prices sank 1.2% in November after a decline in the cost of oil. That held down the headline wholesale inflation reading. Food prices rose a sharp 0.6%, however, led by a 59% increase in the price of eggs. Another outbreak of avian flu could keep egg prices high for a while. The cost of services, a big source of recent inflation, was flat in November. That might bode well for further declines in the rate of inflation. Inflation further down the pipeline was also soft. The wholesale cost of partly finished goods was unchanged while prices of raw materials dropped 1.4%. Both are negative compared to one year earlier. The PPI report captures what companies pay for supplies suc …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]