US Wholesale Prices in Surprise Fall

The US producer price index (PPI) for the month of December fell by -0.1%. Economists had been expecting a rise of 0.1%. Core inflation, excluding food and gasoline, rose by 0.3% in a somewhat anomalous move.

Energy and food prices fell during December by 0.8% each, led by vegetable prices that fell by -11% and gasoline prices that fell by -2.3%. The gain in core prices came from a 0.9% increase in the cost of new light trucks.

The consumer price index, a broader measure of inflation, is expected to tally a gain of 0.1% when it is released tomorrow.

For the year, producers paid 4.8% more for goods than they did a year ago, the biggest rise since 2007. The rise in the core index is the highest since 2008.