WASHINGTON — Producer prices jumped more than economists expected in November, rising 0.8% due partly to higher energy prices, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.
Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.3%. Economists expected gains of 0.6% for producer prices and 0.2% for core prices.
The November gain followed a 0.4% increase for producer prices in October. For the year ending in November, producer prices are up 3.5% and core prices are up 1.2%.
"Retail sales suggest that the economy is in fact reaccelerating, which is welcome news ahead of the Christmas holiday," said Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial. "Nothing in today's data, however, will stop the Federal Reserve from moving forward with plans to ease further with large scale asset purchases."
