U.S. producer prices rose in March from a year earlier at the fastest pace in nearly a year, according to the Associated Press, offering more evidence that progress against inflation may have stalled this year and raising doubts about the timing of any interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve.
The Labor Department said today that its producer price index — which measures inflationary pressure before it reaches consumers — rose 2.1% last month from March 2023, the biggest year-over-year jump since April 2023. Compared to February, though, wholesale prices were up just 0.2%, down from a 0.6% gain.
Stripping out volatile food and energy prices, so-called “core” wholesale prices were up 0.2% last month from February and 2.4% from March 2023. The year-over-year increase in core producer prices was the most since August.
