July PPI Increases 0.2%; Core Rate Climbs 0.3%

Producer prices rose 0.2% in July to post their first gain in in four months, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Core producer prices, excluding food and energy costs, increased 0.3%.

The headline 0.2% rise matched economists' expectations, while the expansion in core prices compared with a 0.1% uptick predicted by the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.

For the 12-months ending in July, producer prices increased 4.2% while core prices gained 1.5%. Most of the rise in producer prices was attributed to a 0.3% gain in prices for core finished foods, particularly a 1.5% rise in price for light trucks.

July's 0.2% increase in overall prices followed an unrevised 0.5% decline in June. Meanwhile, the 0.3% core prices increase followed an unrevised 0.1% uptick the previous month.

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