Fed Gets More Room to Pause Rate Hikes After Drops in Producer Prices, Retail Sales
- Value of sales fell 0.4% from prior month after January surge
- Producer costs post surprise drop, suggesting easing pressures
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US producer prices and retail sales both declined in February, giving Federal Reserve officials more room to potentially pause interest-rate hikes as they weigh the impact of a banking crisis against inflation risks.
The producer price index, a measure of wholesale costs, unexpectedly fell 0.1% from the prior month, suggesting inflation pressures are easing in parts of the economy, Labor Department data showed Wednesday.