WASHINGTON – The producer price index exceeded expectations in April as interest rates, hotel rooms, cigarettes and gasoline rose, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
The final demand PPI was up 0.5% in April, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, the same as in January and last June.
But even more notable was the 0.7% increase in the core rate, excluding food, energy and profit margins. Although in a relatively young series, beginning in 2013, it was a record as was the 12-month change for the core of 2.1%, the BLS said.
"The increase was pretty broad based," senior BLS analyst Scott Sager told Market News International. Energy, which rose 0.8%, was not a particularly heavy influence in April, he added.
But the way interest rates rose after the Federal Reserve rate hike did figure into several categories, mostly in securities brokerage and loan services, he went on.
Guest room rentals jumped 8.2%, reflecting a spike in demand later than usual because of the late Easter.
