U.S. wholesale prices fell slightly in December, pulled down by drops in energy and food costs, the government said Wednesday.
Meanwhile industrial production rebounded in the month after a contraction in November, separate official data showed.
Overall wholesale prices slipped 0.1% from November, confirming the trend of easing inflationary pressures in the second half of the year, according to data from the Labor Department.
Food and energy prices both lost 0.8% in the month, while wholesale prices for all other goods pushed 0.3% higher.
Year-on-year, wholesale prices were 4.8% higher, down from the 7.1% annual pace reached in July after a global surge in a wide range of commodity prices.
Federal Reserve data on industrial production showed an 0.4% increase in December from the previous month, driven mainly by the manufacturing sector. The year-on-year expansion was 2.9%.
"This is another cheering piece of news for economic activity in the U.S.," Inna Mufteeva of Natixis said.
"Indeed, if the overall figure posted a rebound of 0.4%, the manufacturing production rose at even faster pace of 0.9% over the month thanks to machinery and electronics sectors."
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
