WASHINGTON — The producer price index rose 0.8% in April, the Labor Department reported Thursday.
Core prices, which exclude food and energy goods, rose 0.3%.
The increase in the PPI was higher than the 0.6% increase projected by economists, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Economists were slightly low with their projection for a 0.2% gain in core prices.
The 08% gain in producer prices followed an unrevised 0.7 increase in March.
The April gain was, as expected, led by energy, with finished energy goods rising 2.5% for the month. Gasoline rose 3.6%.