WASHINGTON — The producer price index rose 0.4% in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The increase followed an unrevised 0.1% increase in the index for January.
Core producer prices, excluding food and energy, rose 0.2% following an unrevised 0.4% spike in January.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 0.5% gain in the headline number and a 0.2% core increase.
Year-over-year PPI was up 3.3%, while the core rose 3.0%.