The U.S. producer price index (PPI) for March came in well below market expectations.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) on the 14th (local time), the U.S. producer price index (PPI) in March rose 0.5% from the previous month. That was well below the 1.1% forecast compiled by Dow Jones.
However, the year-over-year increase in the PPI was 4.0%, with the pace of gains accelerating from 3.4% in the previous month.
The BLS said a roughly 16% surge in gasoline prices accounted for nearly half of the increase in goods prices.
Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, the core PPI rose just 0.1% from the previous month, missing the 0.5% estimate. It also climbed 3.8% from a year earlier, below the 4.1% expected.
Experts had worried that producer prices in March would surge due to a spike in oil prices and supply chain disruptions stemming from the Middle East situation.
Earlier, the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) for March rose 0.9% from the previous month, marking the biggest increase in about four years since June 2022, adding to such concerns.
However, it is analyzed that a month-over-month decline in food prices and a stall in service prices partially offset the impact of higher oil prices.