DATA SNAP:US June Producer Prices +0.1%; Core +0.2%
Last update: 7/13/2012 8:30:00 AM
===================================================== Jun Producer Price Index ! Consensus: ! ! Overall: -0.3% ! Key Numbers: Jun May ! Core: +0.2% ! PPI Index: +0.1% -1.0% ! Actual: ! Core Index: +0.2% +0.2% ! Overall: +0.1% ! Intermediate: -0.5% -0.8% ! Core: +0.2% ! ===================================================== By Jeffrey Sparshott and Sarah Portlock
WASHINGTON--U.S. wholesale prices in June rose for the first time in four months, though the increase was slight and overall inflation pressures appear tame.
The producer price index, which measures how much manufacturers and wholesalers pay for finished goods, rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in June from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Friday. Higher prices for light trucks and food more than offset falling energy costs.
So-called core prices, which strip out volatile energy and food components, rose 0.2% last month.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected overall producer prices to fall 0.3% and core prices to rise 0.2%.
Wholesale prices, one measure of inflation, can influence prices for consumers. May producer prices tumbled 1.0%, while the May consumer price index fell for the first time in two years. The closely watched June CPI report is due out Tuesday.
The annual rate of inflation at the producer level held steady at 0.7% last month. Still, year over year, core prices were up 2.6%.
Tame inflation largely reflects falling energy costs--Brent crude oil, for example, fell by almost $40 a barrel between March and June amid increasing uncertainty over economic growth in the U.S., Europe and China.
The Federal Reserve, which uses a different measure for inflation, targets a year-over-year rate of 2%.
Price rises below that level give the Fed more leeway to help the economy, possibly through additional bond purchases. Minutes from the Fed's June 19-20 meeting, released Wednesday, showed that officials are considering more actions to bolster the economic recovery.
The drop in energy prices, month to month, was due largely to lower prices for liquefied petroleum gas, diesel fuel, home heating oil and electricity.
Food prices rose 0.5% in June, the most since November 2011, led by higher costs for eggs, poultry and meats.
Prices for intermediate goods--which are semifinished goods like lumber or flour that require further processing--fell by 0.5% in June. Prices of raw materials, known as crude goods, tumbled 3.6%.
That suggests that prices for finished goods will continue to fall in coming months.
The Labor Department's producer price index report can be accessed at: bls.gov
Write to Jeffrey Sparshott at jeffrey.sparshott@dowjones.com and Sarah Portlock at sarah.portlock@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
July 13, 2012 08:30 ET (12:30 GMT)
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