U.S. Producer Prices Rise 0.2% In November, In Line With Estimates

(RTTNews) - A report released by the Labor Department on Wednesday showed a modest increase by U.S. producer prices in the month of November.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.2 percent in November after inching up by 0.1 percent in October. The uptick in prices matched economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the report said the annual rate of growth by producer prices accelerated to 3.0 percent in November from 2.8 percent in October. Economists had expected annual producer price growth to come in at 2.7 percent.

The modest monthly increase by producer prices largely reflected a rebound in prices for energy, which spiked by 4.6 percent in November after plunging by 3.2 percent in October.

Excluding prices for food, energy and trade services, core producer prices rose by 0.2 percent in November after climbing by 0.7 percent in October.

The annual rate of growth by core producer prices crept up to 3.5 percent in November from 3.4 percent in October.

On Tuesday, the Labor Department released a separate report showing consumer prices in the U.S. also 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 2.7 percent in 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.