Wholesale prices in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in March, largely driven by a sharp decline in energy costs.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) showed that the prices paid to producers fell 0.4% in March while slowing to an annual rate of 2.7%, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. The report did show, however, that the price of goods — excluding energy and food — increased 0.3% in March.
Notably, there was an 11.1% drop in gasoline prices in March, according to the BLS.
The report comes on the heels of a Thursday BLS report showing that the Consumer Price Index, a measure of the price of everyday goods, increased just 2.4% in March, beating economists’ expectations. The CPI also declined partly due to a drop in energy prices, which fell 2.4% in March, the BLS reported. (RELATED: Goldman Sachs Suddenly Changes Tune On Recession Forecast After Trump’s Tariff…
