Wholesale inflation rose 0.6% in February [Video]

Wholesale prices accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in February, another reminder that inflation remains a troublesome issue for the U.S. economy.

The producer price index, which measures pipeline costs for raw, intermediate and finished goods, jumped 0.6% on the month, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. That was higher than the 0.3% forecast from Dow Jones and comes after a 0.3% increase in January.

Excluding food and energy, the core PPI accelerated by 0.3%, compared with the estimate for a 0.2% increase. Another measure that also excludes trade services rose 0.4%, compared with the 0.6% gain in January, and was above the estimate for a 0.2% advance.

On a year-over-year basis, the headline index increased 1.6%, the biggest move since September 2023.

The data contributed to a decline on Wall Street, with the major U.S. stock falling slightly. Treasury yields climbed on the back of the report.

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