U.S. producer prices fell in June to register their biggest decline since February, according to a new government report released Thursday.

Led by lower food and energy costs, the Producer Price Index, or PPI for short, dropped 0.5% in June after falling 0.3% in May and 0.1% in April.

"In June, over eighty percent of the 0.5-percent decrease in the finished goods index can be traced to prices for consumer foods, which fell 2.2 percent," the Labor Department said. "Also contributing to lower finished goods prices, the index for finished energy goods declined 0.5 percent."

The PPI is the measure of inflation before it reaches consumers. Continue reading June US Producer Prices Slide 0.5%, 12-Month Wholesale Inflation Up 2.8% →

U.S. producer prices fell in April, marking the second decline in three months, according to a new government report released Tuesday.

The Producer Price Index, or PPI, declined 0.1% in April after rising 0.7% in March, the Labor Department revealed. The PPI is the measure of wholesale inflation, or prices businesses (farms and factories) pay for their goods.

Aprils fall is unexpected for many analysts who were forecasting a 0.1% increase. Leading the decreases were falling energy and food prices, which respectively dropped 0.8% and 0.2%. The costs of meats, however, soared 5.1%.

Stripping out volatile food and energy costs, core producer prices rose 0.2% after two straight months of 0.1% increases. Continue reading US Producer Prices Decline 0.1% in April, Annual Wholesale Inflation Rises 5.5% →

US producer prices declined more than expected in February, according to the latest figures provided in a government report released Wednesday.

The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index (PPI) dropped 0.6 in February — the biggest fall since July, and after soaring 1.4% in January. The PPI measures inflationary pressures before they reach the consumer or, more technically, the wholesale price of goods leaving the factory gate. Many analysts were forecasting a monthly decrease ranging from 0.2% to 0.3%.

"Disinflation is going to be with us for a while," Julia Coronado, a senior U.S. economist at BNP Paribas in New York, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview. "That’s going to allow the Fed to stay on hold for a lot longer than the market is expecting."

Deflation is a persistent decrease in general prices, or the opposite of inflation. Falling prices may seem like good news for consumers, but only to a certain point. If prices mark sustained deflationary levels that strike below the cost to produce goods and services, further economic turmoil can ensue with production cuts, payroll reductions and deepening unemployment. Continue reading US Producer Prices Decline 0.6% in February, 12-Month Wholesale Inflation Rises 4.4% →

Producer prices in the U.S. jumped more than expected in January and annual wholesale inflation climbed the most since October 2008, the government reported on Thursday.

The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, soared 1.4% in January after a 0.4% increase in December. Forecasts for the month ranged from 0.7% to 0.9%.

Driving prices higher were increased energy and good costs, with respective gains of 5.1% and 1.7%. The same readings in December came in at 0.7% and 0.6%. The biggest contributors to wholesale energy prices were a 11.5% advance in gasoline and 16.2% rise in home heating oil — the latter helped by colder than normal weather. Food prices were up 0.4% compared to 1.3% in December. Continue reading US Producer Prices Surge 1.4% in January, Annual Wholesale Inflation Rises to 4.6% →

Producer prices in the U.S. increased much more than expected in November, as did the annual wholesale inflation reading, according to a government report on Tuesday.

The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, soared 1.8% in November — the biggest gain in three months. Expectations generally ranged from between 0.8% and 1.0%. October’s PPI advanced 0.3%. (Prices declined 0.6% in September after a 1.7% increase in August.)

"The numbers were a bit higher than expected, and investors are concerned a bit, but the market is not moving too much on it because there is a low possibility that these little tickles of inflation would lead to changes in rates," Keith Springer, president of Capital Financial Advisory Services in Sacramento, California, said on Reuters.

Energy prices at the wholesale level surged 6.9% in November as compared to a 1.6% increase in October and a 2.4% decline in September. Gasoline was a big part of the increase, soaring 14.2% in the month. Energy as a whole accounted for about 75% of November’s PPI increase. Continue reading US Producer Prices Jump 1.8% in November, Annual Wholesale Inflation Hits 2.4% →

U.S. producer prices in October increased 0.3% as a result of higher food and energy prices, but core wholesale inflation, which excludes the volatile food and energy costs, declined 0.6%, according to a government reported released Tuesday.

The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, has increased twice during the past four months. Prices declined 0.6% in September following a 1.7% increase in August.

Energy prices at the wholesale level increased 1.6% in October after a decline of 2.4% in September. Gasoline costs climbed 1.9%, accounting for almost half of the increase. Food prices also rose 1.6%, following a 0.1% decline in the month prior. Fresh and dry vegetables prices jumped 24.2% and accounted for about half of the increase.

"There is little doubt that over the last few months, inflation has picked up in the economy," wrote Dan Greenhaus, an economist for Miller Tabak & Co. who was cited on MarketWatch. "But in a general sense, the overall slack in the economy and weakness in the labor market will work to hold down broader inflation measurements over the coming quarters."

Compared with a year earlier, producer prices were 1.9% lower in October. Continue reading U.S. Producer Prices Rise in October, but Core Wholesale Inflation Falls →