The Labor
Department announced on Thursday that the U.S. producer-price index (PPI) edged
up 0.1 per cent m-o-m in May,
following an upwardly revised 0.2 per cent m-o-m drop (from -0.5 per cent m-o-m) in April. This
marked the first monthly gain in PPI in three
months.
For the 12
months through May, the PPI climbed by 2.6 per cent, marginally quickening from an upwardly revised 2.5 per cent jump
(from +2.4 per cent) in the previous month. This represented the first acceleration in annual producer price
inflation in four months.
Economists had anticipated
the headline PPI would increase 0.2 per cent m-o-m and 2.6 per cent over the
past 12 months.
According to
the report, the May uptick in the headline index reflected a 0.1-per-cent m-o-m
advance in the index for final demand services and a 0.2-per-cent m-o-m rise in the
index for final demand goods.
Excluding
volatile prices for food and energy, the PPI also inched up 0.1 per cent m-o-m and surged 3.0 per cent over 12 months, registering
its softest annual advance since
August 2024 (+2.8 per cent y-o-y). Economists had predicted gains of 0.3 per
cent m-o-m and 3.1 per cent y-o-y in May. In April, the core PPI recorded a 0.2
per cent m-o-m drop
(revised from -0.4 per cent m-o-m in the initial estimate) and a 3.2 per cent y-o-y increase
(revised from +3.1 per cent y-o-y in the initial estimate).