Summary
- The U.S. March Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 0.5%% from the previous month, below the market forecast of 1.1%%.
- The core Producer Price Index, which excludes energy and food, rose 0.1%% from a month earlier, below the 0.4%% estimate.
- Producer prices are a leading indicator that affects consumer prices and the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
U.S. wholesale prices rose less than expected in March, offering another sign that inflation pressures may be easing.
The producer price index increased 0.5% from the previous month in March, according to the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics on April 14. That was below the market forecast of 1.1%.
Core producer prices, which exclude volatile food and energy items, rose 0.1% from a month earlier. That was also below the market estimate of 0.4%.
Producer prices measure wholesale inflation at the business-to-business level and are viewed as a leading indicator for consumer prices because they tend to feed through with a lag. The data also influence the personal consumption expenditures price index, an inflation gauge closely watched by the Federal Reserve.
Minseung Kang
minriver@bloomingbit.ioBlockchain journalist | Writer of Trade Now & Altcoin Now, must-read content for investors.
