Economics
Smaller Gain in U.S. Producer Prices Is Hint of Cooler Inflation
- December increase of 0.2% followed upwardly revised 1% jump
- In sign of mixed report, prices ex-food and energy rose 0.5%
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Prices paid to U.S. producers decelerated in December as two key drivers of inflation in 2021 -- food and energy -- declined from a month earlier, representing a respite in the recent trend of sizable increases.
The producer price index for final demand increased 0.2% from the prior month after an upwardly revised 1% jump in November, Labor Department data showed Thursday. From a year earlier, the PPI was up 9.7%, the second-largest in figures back to 2010.