US producer prices rise more quickly than anticipated in January

(Sharecast News) - Wholesale prices in America rose more quickly than anticipated last month. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms the producer price index rose at a month-on-month pace of 0.3% (consensus: 0.1%).

Food prices declined by 0.3% in comparison to the prior month while those for energy fell by 1.7%.

Services prices on the other hand jumped by 0.6%.

The annual rate of increase in headline producer prices meanwhile dipped from 1.0% in December to 0.9% in January.

That was nevertheless more than the consensus forecast for a gain of 0.6%.

At the core level, producer prices were ahead by 0.5% over the month (consensus: 0.1%) and by 2% in comparison to a year ago (consensus: 1.6%).

Core prices exclude the often volatile categories of food and energy from the calculation in an attempt to avoid distortions.

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