Wholesale Prices in U.S. Rise 0.2% on Higher Food Costs

Wholesale prices in the U.S. rose in January for the first time in four months, reflecting higher costs for food and pharmaceuticals.

The producer-price index climbed 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent drop in December, the Labor Department reported today in Washington. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of 74 economists projected a 0.3 percent increase. So-called core producer costs, which exclude volatile food and energy prices, also increased 0.2 percent.