U.S. Producer Price Growth Exceeds Estimates In December

(RTTNews) - Producer prices in the U.S. increased by much more than anticipated in the month of December, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Friday.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand climbed by 0.5 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November. Economists had expected producer prices to rise by another 0.2 percent.

The report also said producer prices in December were up by 3.0 percent compared to the same month a year ago, unchanged from November. The annual rate of growth was expected to slow to 2.7 percent.

The bigger than expected monthly increase in producer prices largely reflected a 0.7 percent advance by prices for services, which marks the fastest growth since July.

Prices for trade services led the way higher, jumping by 1.7 percent, while prices for transportation and warehousing services climbed by 0.5 percent and prices for other services rose by 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the report said prices for goods were unchanged, as a 1.4 percent slump in energy prices and a 0.3 percent dip in food prices were offset by a 0.4 percent increase in prices for goods excluding food and energy.

The Labor Department noted that prices for non-ferrous metals spiked by 4.5 percent during the month.

Excluding prices for food, energy and trade services, core producer prices climbed by 0.4 percent in December after rising by 0.2 percent in November.

The annual rate of growth by core producer prices in December came in unchanged from November at 3.5 percent.

Earlier this month, the Labor Department released a separate report showing consumer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of December.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index climbed by 0.3 percent in December, matching economist expectations.

Excluding food and energy prices, core consumer prices rose by 0.2 percent in December. Economists had expected core prices to rise by 0.3 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by consumer price came in at 2.7 percent in December, unchanged from November and in line with estimates.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices was also unchanged from the previous month at 2.6 percent, while economists had expected an uptick to 2.7 percent.