Wholesale prices in the U.S. rose modestly last month, the latest sign that inflationary pressures may be easing more than a year after the Federal Reserve unleashed an aggressive campaign of interest rate hikes, the Associated Press reports.
From March to April, the government’s producer price index rose just 0.2% after falling 0.4% from February to March, held down by falling prices for food, transportation, and warehousing.
Compared with a year earlier, wholesale prices rose just 2.3%, the 10th straight slowdown and the lowest figure since January 2021. Lower energy prices helped slow the annual inflation rate.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called “core” wholesale inflation rose 0.2% from March and 3.2% from 12 months earlier.
Thursday’s wholesale figures follow a government report Wednesday that showed core prices at the consumer level rose 0.4% from March to April — the fifth straight month that those prices have risen at least that much, and well above the pace needed to meet the Fed’s 2% annual inflation target.
