The Economy

U.S. Wholesale Prices Up 1.8%

July 14, 2009

Energy prices up 6.6%

Surging energy costs pushed up wholesale prices by a sharp 1.8% in June, the Labor Department reported on July 14.

The producer price index (PPI) accelerated following increases of 0.2% in May and 0.3% in April.

The main cause was energy prices, which jumped 6.6% in June after advancing 2.9% in May. Food prices also saw a strong 1.1% increase following a 1.6% drop in May.

The core PPI index, excluding energy and food prices and sometimes seen as a better long-term indicator, rose 0.5% in June after edging down 0.1%% in the previous month.

The price increases were far steeper than market expectations for a 0.1% rise in the headline PPI and a 0.1% gain in the core.

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