U.S. Producer-Price Inflation Gauges Remained Muted in April

A measure of underlying U.S. inflation-pipeline pressures rose by less than forecast in April, suggesting Federal Reserve officials may need to await more data to validate their view that muted price gains will prove transitory.

Excluding food and energy, producer prices increased 2.4% from a year earlier, matching the slowest gain since last May and missing projections for an acceleration following the prior month’s 2.4% reading, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. The overall producer-price index was up 0.2% from March, also below estimates, after a 0.6% increase.