US wholesale prices up 1.3 percent in February
March 15, 2007
Wholesale prices were up by 1.3 percent in the United States in February, according to the latest report from the US Labor Department, published on Thursday. Core inflation, which excludes prices for food and energy, was up by 0.4 percent. Both increases were substantially larger than had been expected.
The 1.3 percent rise, the largest monthly rise since November, was fueled by an increase of 3.5 percent in energy costs. The pump price of gasoline was up 5.3 percent in the month. Food costs were also much higher, with the Producer Price Index showing a gain in food prices of 1.9 percent in the month. The rise in food prices was the largest monthly gain since October 2003, and was largely driven by gains in the cost of fruits and vegetables due to freezing weather in agricultural regions.
The rise in core prices was the largest since November. Toy prices rose by 2.3 percent, the most they’ve gone up in a month in twenty-four years. Among motor vehicles, light trucks, including sports utility vehicles, saw prices go up by 1.7 percent, while the price of a passenger car dropped by 1.2 percent.