U.S. wholesale prices rose last month at the fastest pace since April, the Associated Press reports, suggesting that inflationary pressures remain despite a year and a half of higher interest rates.
The Labor Department reported today that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it hits consumers — climbed 2.2% from a year earlier. That was up from a 2% increase in August. On a month-to-month basis, producer prices rose 0.5% from August to September, down from 0.7% from July to August.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called “core” inflation rose 2.7% in September from a year earlier and 0.3% from August. The Federal Reserve and many outside economists pay particular attention to core prices as a signal of where inflation might be headed.
Wholesale prices have been rising more slowly than consumer prices, raising hopes that inflation may continue to ease as producer costs make their way to the consumer.
On Thursday, the Labor Department will issue its closely-watched consumer price index for September. Last month, the department reported that compared with 12 months earlier, core consumer prices in August rose at the smallest pace in nearly two years.
