U.S. PPI Edges Lower to 11% on Year in April as Energy Price Surge Weakens
2022.05.12 16:07
By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com — U.S. producer price inflation showed signs of peaking in April but remained in double digits, as the surge in energy prices weakened a little in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The annual rate of factory gate inflation fell to 11.0% from 11.5%, while the monthly rise in prices slowed to 0.5% from 1.6% in March. The monthly rise was in line with consensus forecasts.
But there were also signs of weakening price trends in the core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices. Core PPI rose by only 0.4% on the month, less than the 0.6% expected and a clear slowdown from an upwardly-revised 1.2% in March.
The figures come a day after official data showed that consumer inflation also eased slightly from its 40-year peak last month, despite some pockets of continuing strong price pressure.
Separately, the Labor Department also reported that initial jobless claims topped 200,000 for the second week in a row last week. Initial claims totaled 203,000, effectively unchanged from an upwardly-revised 202,000 the previous week.
