© Bloomberg
US wholesale inflation rose more than expected in July, as prices for services jumped, in a sign the Federal Reserve has more work to do to combat sticky inflation.
The producer price index, a leading indicator of consumer price inflation, increased 0.3 per cent last month, after it remained flat in June, the labour department said on Friday. The annualised rate rose 0.8 per cent, up from June’s 0.2 per cent increase, which was the lowest level since August 2020.
Economists expected the PPI to increase 0.2 per cent in July and 0.7 per cent year-on-year.
“Core” PPI, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, also rose 0.3 per cent last month, keeping the annualised rate of price increases at 2.4 per cent. Both figures topped economists’ forecasts.
