Wholesale prices rise again, PPI shows, due to stubborn pockets of inflation

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: MarketWatch

Published: Nov. 14, 2024 at 8:34 a.m. ET


The numbers: U.S. wholesale prices rose a bit faster in October and suggested the battle by the Federal Reserve to reduce inflation to low prepandemic levels may last awhile.

The producer price index increased 0.2% last month, the government said. Wholesale prices also rose a bit faster in September than previously estimated.

The increase in wholesale prices in the 12 months ended in October climbed to 2.4% from 1.9% and matched the highest level in four months.

So-called core wholesale prices that omit food and energy — viewed as a better predictor of future inflation — rose a sharper 0.3% last month. The 12-month rate moved up to 3.5% from 3.3%.

Read more: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/wholesale-prices-pick-up-and-show-inflation-still-a-bit-elevated-855f2ca9

---

From the source -

Link to tweet

BLS-Labor Statistics
@BLS_gov
·
Follow
PPI for final demand rises 0.2% in October; services increase 0.3%, goods advance 0.1% https://bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm
#PPI #BLSdata
8:32 AM · Nov 14, 2024

[GreenWave]

1. They gotta charge us for the hate ads for GOP

[Jit423]

2. Corporations doing what they can to help Trump look good in his first year. No real reason for not continuing down

They are pulling together to stop the lowering of inflation while Biden is still in office. That way, after Jan 20, when they agree to lower prices by a small margin, they will claim that Trump is lowering prices. Check the numbers, the did this to Obama before his second term. People didn't feel it the way they do now because no one was focusing on it like they are doing now and there had been no pandemic before Obama's second term.

[onenote]

3. They were trying to hold down inflation before the election to help Trump?

And now they're pushing prices up to hurt Biden?

That seems like an odd strategy to me.

[SuperProg]

4. Who is "they"?

We really have to look at the driving force that controls inflation or the lack of inflation. No corporation has the power to do that. If they all collude, there are laws to stop that. I say enforce the law if that is the case. Where is the Justice Department? So what else can influence inflation?

[nmmi]

5. I got a "privacy error" on the https://bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm link. This works:

https://www.bls.gov/news.release/ppi.nr0.htm

(same but with a "www" ) Maybe it's just my browser or my antivirus software.

The BLS seemingly favors this measure of core, given that they present it in the third paragraph of their narrative (and only show the one ex food and energy in the tables) :

The index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services increased 0.3 percent in October after moving up 0.1 percent in September. For the 12 months ended in October, prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services rose 3.5 percent.

(I added emphasis)

Anyway the two are the same this month:

Oct: +0.3%, 12 mo: +3.5%   Core #1 (all items less food & energy)
Oct: +0.3%, 12 mo: +3.5%   Core #2 (all items less food, energy, and trade services)

Trade services is very volatile, so that's a reason to pull it out when looking at underlying inflation trends for predicting future wholesale inflation (the same rationale for pulling out food and energy).

The BLS report doesn't have the year over year for Core #1 anywhere that I can find (at least on that page, it might be in some linked tables), so I'm using the 3.5% from the OP Marketwatch report. The other 3 numbers in the table are from the BLS report and tables (the 0.3% for October agrees with Marketwatch).. The month-to-month numbers for the last 3 months are identical: +0.2%, +0.1%, +0.3%.

Sometimes they differ a lot.

[BumRushDaShow]

6. I just tried it (am on Firefox) and got the usual BLS page

Economic News Release
PRINT: Print
PPI PPI Program Links
Producer Price Index News Release summary

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until USDL 24-2305
8:30 a.m. (ET) Thursday, November 14, 2024

Technical information: [phone] * [e-mail] * www.bls.gov/ppi
Media contact: [phone] * [e-mail]


PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES - OCTOBER 2024


The Producer Price Index for final demand increased 0.2 percent in October, seasonally adjusted,
the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Final demand prices advanced 0.1 percent in
September and 0.2 percent in August. (See table A.) On an unadjusted basis, the index for final
demand moved up 2.4 percent for the 12 months ended in October.

In October, most of the rise in final demand prices can be traced to a 0.3-percent advance in the
index for final demand services. Prices for final demand goods inched up 0.1 percent.

(snip)

[louis-t]

7. I keep hearing how stupid fuck is going to lower prices.

I said "Wait until the tariffs kick in". My go to comment is "You are not going to believe what happens to this country in the next year."

[SKKY]

8. Corporations are raking in record profits...

...they're not going to go quietly into that good night.

[Clouds Passing]

9. Start the price gouging now before the dump takes office.

So they can blame it on Joe

[praxEs]

10. Great Tautology!

In my humble opinion a rise in prices IS inflation just like insomnia IS sleeplessness. In neither case does one CAUSE the other.