U.S. Producer Prices Dip More Than Expected In June As Energy Prices Plunge

(RTTNews) - Producer prices in the U.S. decreased by more than expected in the month of June, according to a report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand fell by 0.3 percent in June after climbing by a downwardly revised 0.6 percent in May.

Economists had expected producer prices to edge down by 0.1 percent compared to the 1.1 percent jump originally reported for the previous month.

The report also said the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 5.5 percent in June from a downwardly revised 6.0 percent in May.

Economists had expected the annual rate of producer price growth to slow to 6.2 percent from the 6.5 percent originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected monthly decrease in producer prices largely reflected a steep drop in energy prices, which plunged by 6.4 percent in June after soaring by 8.4 percent in May.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said prices for services rose by 0.2 percent in June after edging down by 0.1 percent in May.

While prices for transportation and warehousing services edged down by 0.1 percent, prices for trade services climbed by 0.4 percent and prices for other services inched up by 0.1 percent.

The report also said core producer prices, which exclude prices for food, energy and trade services, crept up by 0.1 percent in June after increasing by 0.8 percent in May.

The annual rate of growth by core producer prices came in at 5.1 percent in June, unchanged from May and matching the fastest rate of growth since October 2022.

"Core producer prices ticked higher," said Grace Zwemmer, U.S. Economist at Oxford Economics. "AI demand is raising goods prices, in part due to a shortage of DRAM memory chips, which are necessary for AI technology."

She added, "With demand for AI unlikely to cease, we expect producer prices in this sector will remain elevated."

A separate report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed consumer prices in the U.S. also decreased by much more than expected in the month of June.

The Labor Department said its consumer price index fell by 0.4 percent in June after climbing by 0.5 percent in May. Economists had expected consumer prices to edge down by 0.1 percent.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth slowed to 3.5 percent in June from 4.2 percent in May, coming in below economist estimates for a 3.8 percent jump.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, came in unchanged in June after rising by 0.2 percent in May. Economists had expected core prices to increase by another 0.2 percent.

The annual rate of growth by core consumer prices slowed to 2.6 percent in June from 2.9 percent in May, while economists had expected the pace of growth to slip to 2.8 percent.