US wholesale inflation heated up again last month

A key US inflation gauge increased last month at its fastest pace since April 2023, showing that underlying price pressures remain persistent.

A key US inflation gauge increased last month at its fastest pace since April 2023, showing that underlying price pressures remain persistent. The Producer Price Index, a closely watched measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 2.1% for the 12 months ended in March, up from a 1.6% gain in February, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Thursday. While the increase was lower than expected — FactSet consensus estimates had the annual increase at 2.3% — the acceleration in the prices producers pay for goods and services highlights the persistence of inflation, the bumpy path to bring it lower, and supports fears that interest rates will stay higher for longer. On a monthly basis, US wholesale prices rose 0.2%, markedly slower than the 0.6% gain in February. When stripping out the more volatile components of food and energy, the closely watched “core” index moved higher for the third consecutive month, rising to 2.4% annually, up from 2.1% the month before. On a monthly basis, the core PPI slowed in line with expectations to 0.2% from 0.3%. Economists had projected that core PPI would rise 2.3% annually.