Producer Price Index

The US producer price index surged 1.1% in March, more than double what was expected. Core PPI, which excludes energy and food prices because of their volatile nature, increased 0.2%. Economists had forecast a 0.4% gain for the PPI, and a 0.2% for the core.

The monthly gain was largely attributed to sharp increases in wholesale energy and food prices. Energy prices at the wholesale level rose 2.9%, while food prices increased 1.2%.

Year-over-year, producer prices have increased 6.9%. Core PPI gained 2.7% in the same period, the largest gain since July 2005.

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