PPI rises less than was expected

The producer price index, a key measure of the nation’s agricultural and factory business, edged up a weaker-than-expected 0.2% last month, reflecting reduced gasoline prices at the producer level, the Department of Labor reported today. Economists polled by Reuters had forecasted that producer prices would rise 0.4%. Energy prices dropped 2% last month, with gasoline prices at the producer level falling 4.6% for the month, but they are still up 23% from the comparable period a year earlier. The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs from the calculation, rose 0.4% last month from March, and 3% from the comparable period a year earlier, marking the largest 12-month increase since 1991. Food prices were unchanged for the month, though the costs of rice jumped 17.4% — the largest increase since 1993. In March, the PPI increased 1.1%, while the core index rose 0.2%.