PARIS, March 15 (Reuters) – U.S. producer prices rose more than expected in February, official statistics showed on Tuesday.
The producer price index (PPI) rose 0.8% month-on-month after gaining 1.2% (revised) in January, the Labor Department said. Over one year, its increase was 10.0%, like the previous month.
Economists polled by Reuters on average forecast a rise of 0.9% month-on-month and 10.0% year-on-year.
The rise is expected to continue, with statistics released on Tuesday only partially including marked increases in the prices of oil and many commodities, such as wheat, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.
Excluding energy, food and market services, producer prices increased by 0.2% in February after +0.8% in January and their annual rise fell from 6.8% to 6.6%.
(Reporter Lucia Mutikani, written by Claude Chendjou and Marc Angrand)