WASHINGTON - Producer prices rose 0.4% in September, higher than expected as food prices increased, the Labor Department reported today.
Core prices, excluding food and energy goods, edged up 0.1% for the month.
Economists expected producer prices would rise 0.2% and core prices would climb 0.1%, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
August's producer prices were unrevised at a 0.4% increase, while the core posted an unrevised 0.1% gain. Producer prices have increased for three straight months following three months of decline from April through June.
Finished food prices increased 1.2% in September, accounting for about two-thirds of the total monthly increase in producer prices. Food prices declined 0.3% in August.
Finished energy goods advanced 0.5%, the second straight increase, as liquefied petroleum gas moved up 6.1%, the largest increase since January.
Among core goods, light motor vehicle prices increased 0.6%.
For the year ending in September, total producer prices increased 4.0%, higher than the 3.1% 12-month increase reported in August. Core prices rose 1.6% over the last 12 months, the largest 12-month increase in a year.
Consumer prices for September, the third monthly inflation gauge from the Labor Department, will be released Friday.
