US wholesale prices rise 0.2 per cent in February
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WASHINGTON — U.S. wholesale prices rose 0.2 per cent in February as a pickup in services prices offset a drop in the cost of food and energy.
The Labor Department said Wednesday that the February increase in its producer price index was half January’s 0.4 per cent gain. Producer prices, which show inflation before it reaches consumers, have risen 2.8 per cent over the past year.
Energy prices fell 0.5 per cent in February, and food prices fell 0.4 per cent as fresh and dry vegetable prices plunged 27.1 per cent, most since May 2007. The wholesale price of services rose 0.3 per cent in February, matching the January increase. Prices for wholesale services rose 2.8 per cent over the past year, the biggest annual gain in records that date back to 2010. Transportation and warehousing prices rose 0.9 per cent, most since September. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called core wholesale inflation rose 0.2 per cent for the third straight month.
“Inflation is beginning to creep higher, led by services, exactly what you might expect in an economy characterized by a drum-tight labour market,” Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont Securities, wrote in a research note. Unemployment has hovered at 4.1 per cent for five straight months.
