WASHINGTON — Final demand PPI rose 0.4% in October, well above the 0.1% expected, and was still up 0.4% excluding food and energy prices, above the 0.2% expected due to a 1.1% surge in trade services.
Energy prices were flat in the month, with a 4.6% drop in gasoline prices offset by gains in other energy categories.
Food prices, on the other hand, were up 0.5%, driven higher by 12.1% surge in vegetable prices.
The core rate the BLS prefers, excluding the change in trade services as well as food and energy, was up 0.2% in October.
The year/year rates for these measures indicated acceleration. Overall PPI was up 2.8% year/year in October after a 2.6% year/year rise in September. At the same time, the year/year rate for PPI excluding food and energy rose to 2.4% from 2.2% in September and the year/year rate for PPI excluding food, energy and trade services rose to 2.3% from 2.1%.
It remains to be seen if these price gains pass through to the consumer level, but it appears that energy prices, while not rising further in October, remained at their high levels.
