Producer prices see largest rise in four years: BLS

Producer prices rose by 1.3 percent from August to September, the largest jump in more than four years, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).

September’s increase, as measured by the producer price index (PPI), is the largest since producer prices rose by 1.7 percent from February to March 2022. That spike in producer prices occurred months before inflation hit a 40-year high.

Producer costs were also up 6.3 percent year-over-year in September, the largest annual increase since December 2022, according to the BLS data. Wholesale prices also increased by 0.5 percent from July to August and 0.2 percent from June to July.

September’s hot reading also surpassed the expectations of economists — experts surveyed by the Wall Street Journal projected monthly and annual PPI increases of 0.6 percent and 5.5 percent, respectively. 

Spikes in energy costs accounted for more than 80 percent of........

© The Hill