On Friday, the US Labor Department reported that its producer price index (PPI)—which is used to track inflation before it reaches consumers—rose 0.3% between December and January (an annual increase of 0.9%) after falling -0.1% from November to December.
the US Labor Department reported that its producer price index (PPI)—which is used to track inflation before it reaches consumers—rose 0.3% between December and January (an annual increase of 0.9%) after falling -0.1% from November to December.The report is poor news for the US Federal Reserve which expected more moderate rates through the year, as they continue to struggle to reach their goal for 2% inflation. Apart from food and energy, core PPI increased by 0.5%, and when also excluding trade services, the core PPI rose by 0.6%, which is the biggest one-month advance since January 2023.The consumer price index (CPI)—which measures what consumers pay when checking out—rose 3.
