BLS: US PPI Rises 0.5% in December on Higher Services Prices

VIENNA (DTN) – The Producer Price Index for final demand advanced 0.5% in December, following a 0.2% increase in November and 0.1% in October. the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday (1/30). On an unadjusted basis, the index for final demand rose 3% year-on-year.

The December increase was led by a 0.7% rise in prices for final demand services. Two thirds of that increase can be traced to a jump in margins for final demand trade services, BLS said. The index for final demand goods prices, in contrast, remained unchanged.

Market consensus expected a 0.2% increase in December, but a 1.7% month-on-month jump in trade costs and a 0.4% rise in core producer prices – final demand excluding food, energy and trade – more than outweighed the 1.4% drop in energy prices.

The core index for final demand rose 0.4% in December after rising 0.2% in November. Over the past 12 months, this core measure has increased 3.5% on an unadjusted basis.