According to a report from Yahoo Finance, U.S. producer prices rose far more than expected in April, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Prices rose 1.4% in April over the previous month, far above March’s revised gain of 0.7% and economists’ expectations for an increase of 0.5% on the month. On an annual basis, headline prices rose by 6% in April, above estimates of 4.8% and the previous month’s 4.3% year-over-year increase.
Excluding the more volatile food and energy costs, “core” producer prices advanced by 1% over the previous month, more than double the 0.3% growth economists had predicted and well above the previous month’s revised gain of 0.2%. Core prices rose 5.2% year over year, hotter than estimates of 4.3% and the previous month’s 4% revised gain.
The numbers come after consumer prices also increased more than expected in April. The Consumer Price Index published by the BLS on Monday showed prices were 3.8% higher than a year ago — the largest annual increase in three years — and up 0.6% on a monthly basis, largely due to soaring energy costs.
Economists had expected a rise of 3.7% from last April, according to a Bloomberg survey, and a 0.6% increase from March, which had marked the index’s largest monthly gain since 2022.
Energy prices rose 3.8% from the previous month after March showed a 10.9% monthly jump. The overall energy index was 17.9% higher than a year ago, while the index for gasoline rose 28.4%.
Under the hood, final demand prices for services rose 1.2% month over month in April, led by increases in machinery and equipment wholesaling, freight truck transportation, and fuels and lubricants, among other products.
Click here to read the full report from Yahoo Finance.
