http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/economy/producer-prices-climb--april/A key inflation gauge came in right around expectations for April, and showed that at least in the short term, energy prices have stopped their decline.
The producer-price index, which measures inflation at the producer level, rose 0.3% in April, the Department of Labor reported Thursday. Core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, advanced 0.1%.
Year over year, PPI was down 3.7%, as lower energy prices kept prices down. Core PPI -- excluding food and energy -- was up 3.4% from April last year.
Crude goods, which are those in the early stages of production, saw a price rise of 3% in April, largely because of higher energy costs.
Just as one indicator, crude oil prices tumbled at the end of last year and stayed low for the first few months of 2009, even hitting the low $30s after reaching record highs near $150 a barrel in the summer of 2008. But just this week, oil crossed the $60 mark again as expectations of an economic turnaround gained steam.
“The commodity disinflation story, as measured by government price data, has likely ended,” said Peter Boockvar of Miller Tabak in a research note.
Topic: Inflation unexpectantly up..... tip of the iceberg (Read 417 times)