Producer wholesale prices reportedly rose at a rapid pace in May as inflationary pressures continued to weigh on the U.S. economy according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report on Tuesday.
The Producer Price Index (CPI), which measures prices paid to producers of goods and services, rose 0.8% for May and 10.8% over the previous year. The monthly increase was in line with Dow Jones estimates and doubled from 0.4% in April.
Excluding food, energy and trade, the core PPI rose 0.5% in May, slightly below the 0.6% estimate, but up from 0.4% in the previous month. On a year -on -year basis, the core measure increased 6.8%, in line with the increase in April.
Both measures of the PPI are approaching their historic highs of 11.5% and 7.1% for the core PPI that was reached in March.
This data is important because prices at the wholesale level will affect consumer prices which grew at their highest level since December 1981. The consumer price index rose 8.6% annually in May, breaking expectations that inflation had peaked in the spring.
Federal Reserve officials are watching inflation figures closely. The market now expects central bank officials to raise the benchmark short -term lending rate by 75 basis points at the next FOMC meeting.
The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against six major currencies, began to strengthen after the PPI data was released at the trading level of 104,910.
