Headline Roundup • March 15th, 2024
Wholesale Inflation Rose More Than Expected in February
Summary from the AllSides News Team
On Thursday, the Department of Labor reported that wholesale inflation rose more than expected in February.
Key Details: The Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks the cost of materials that manufacturers and producers purchase from suppliers, rose by 0.6% in February from the month before - double the 0.3% forecasted by Dow Jones economists.
Key Quote: “Nearly 70 percent of the broad-based rise in February can be attributed to the index for final demand energy, which jumped 4.4 percent,” a release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics read.
For Context: Earlier this week, the Department of Labor reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) had risen 0.4% in February from the month before and 3.2% from a year ago.
How the Media Covered It: Sources across the spectrum framed the news as an unwelcome surprise. CNBC (Center bias) called it "another reminder that inflation remains a troublesome issue for the U.S. economy." U.S. News & World Report (Lean Left bias) said, "Rising energy prices are putting a damper on the slowing inflation narrative." The Washington Free Beacon (Right bias) mentioned an economist who said March's inflation numbers will "likely show improvement since energy and gas prices have not had a sharp increase."
Featured Coverage of this Story
DAVID ZALUBOWSKI/ AP
Rising energy prices are putting a damper on the slowing inflation narrative as wholesale costs rose 0.6% in February, double the expectation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Thursday.
On an annual basis, the producer price index increased by 1.6%, well above the 1.2% forecast and the largest year-over-year gain since September.
“Nearly 70 percent of the broad-based rise in February can be attributed to the index for final demand energy, which jumped 4.4 percent,” the release said.
Excluding energy and food prices, the index rose 0.4% in February,...
Reuters
Wholesale inflation rose at double its expected rate in February, according to a government report released Thursday, the second report this week that could indicate a lack of progress on tempering inflation.
The Producer Price Index (PPI), which tracks the cost of materials that producers and manufacturers buy from their suppliers, rose by 0.6 percent last month compared with January, a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. That surge is double the expected 0.3 percent that Dow Jones forecasted.
A PPI report signaling higher prices for producers may portend higher prices...
Wholesale prices accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in February, another reminder that inflation remains a troublesome issue for the U.S. economy.
The producer price index, which measures pipeline costs for raw, intermediate and finished goods, jumped 0.6% on the month, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday. That was higher than the 0.3% forecast from Dow Jones and comes after a 0.3% increase in January.
Excluding food and energy, the core PPI accelerated by 0.3%, compared with the estimate for a 0.2% increase. Another measure that also excludes trade...
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