In the 12 months through April, the PPI was unchanged after dipping 0.1 per cent in March.
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The producer-price index measures changes in the prices received by businesses from customers like consumers, other businesses and the government. Wholesale food prices fell 0.3 percent following a 0.9 percent drop in March.
Compared to the same month a year ago, producer prices were unchanged in April after edging down by 0.1 percent in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast import prices rising 0.5 percent in April after March’s previously reported 0.2 percent advance. Still, U.S. export prices are down 5% over the past year. Energy and food prices did increase however, rising 0.2 percent and 0.3 percent respectively.
Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted a seasonally adjusted 0.3% increase in the producer price index.
Goods rose 0.2%, led by surge in scrap metal prices and higher energy costs.
Prices for services edged up 0.1 percent after slipping 0.2 percent in March.
“Looking ahead, we expect import price inflation to climb higher in the coming months on anticipation of further oil price stabilization and more gradual appreciation of the greenback”, Wells Fargo Securities said in a research note. Last month’s increase in import prices implied that the disinflationary impulse from a stronger dollar, which has helped to hold inflation well below the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target, was fading. Policy makers are watching for signs of firming prices as they debate the timing of the central bank’s next increase in short-term interest rates; officials are scheduled to meet in mid-June, late July and mid-September.
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Over the last 12 months, import prices are 5.7% lower, but the trend is slowly shifting higher.
