Wholesale inflation jumps to highest level since April 2023
Former White House chief economist Joe LaVorgna and JP Morgan's Kelsey Berro discuss whether strong consumer spending is a concern for the Fed on 'Making Money.'
Inflation at the wholesale level gained steam in March, the latest sign that price pressures within the economy remain uncomfortably high and difficult to tame.
The Labor Department said Thursday that its producer price index, which measures inflation at the wholesale level before it reaches consumers, rose 0.2% in March from the previous month. On an annual basis, prices remain up 2.1%, the largest yearly advance since April 2023.
Those figures are both slightly lower than the 0.3% monthly gain and the 2.2% annual figure predicted by LSEG economists.
HIGH INFLATION IS COSTING AMERICANS AN EXTRA $1K A MONTH
In another sign that points to the stickiness of high inflation, core prices — which exclude the more volatile measurements of food and energy — rose 0.2% for the month. That is in line with estimates, although it is below the 0.3% reading recorded last month.
However, the figure was up 2.4% on a 12-month basis – well above February's 2% reading.
WHY ARE GROCERIES STILL SO EXPENSIVE?
A worker arranges produce at a Costco store in Teterboro, New Jersey, US, on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. (Photographer: Stephanie Keith/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
High inflation has created severe financial pressures for most U.S. households, which are forced to pay more for everyday necessities like food and rent. The burden is disproportionately borne by low-income Americans, whose already-stretched paychecks are heavily affected by price fluctuations.
The data comes two days after the Labor Department said the more closely watched consumer price index,
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