Producer prices reportedly doubled from expectations in January due to unrelenting inflationary pressures. The data was released by the Department of Labor on Tuesday.
The producer price index, which measures final demand goods and services, rose 1% for the month, compared to the Dow Jones estimate of 0.5%. Over the past 12 months, the Producer Price Index (CPI) rose 9.7%.
Regardless of food services, energy and trade, the so -called core PPI rose 0.9% for the month, well ahead of the 0.4% estimate. For a 12 -month period, the measure increased 6.9%. Both core and headline PPI gains for the year were 0.1 percentage points lower than the record levels reached in December 2021.
The increase in the price of goods has outpaced the price of services which increased by 1.3% and 0.7% respectively. The rise comes amid growing inflation across sectors of the economy, with consumer prices soaring to their highest level in 40 years.
Federal Reserve officials plan to act soon to curb price increases, with interest rate hikes expected to begin to rise starting in March and continuing throughout the year.
A separate report Tuesday morning showed that manufacturing activity in the New York region changed little in February. The Empire State Manufacturing Survey, conducted by the New York Fed, posted a reading of 3.1, up from January -0.7 but still below the 11 estimate.
The US dollar index, which measures the US dollar against major currencies, fell 0.36% to a trading level of 96.010.
