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The
Labor Department said on Friday its producer price index climbed
0.2 percent last month after slipping 0.1 percent in March. In
the 12 months through April, the PPI was unchanged after dipping
0.1 percent in March.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI gaining 0.3
percent last month and rising 0.2 percent from a year ago.
Inflation continues to be restrained by the lingering effects of
the dollar's surge and oil price plunge. The greenback gained 20
percent against the currencies of the United States' trading
partners between June 2014 and December 2015.
The dollar has this year dropped 2.5 percent on a trade-weighted
basis and oil has bounced off multi-year lows.
Last month, energy prices increased 0.2 percent after increasing
1.8 percent in March. Wholesale food prices fell 0.3 percent
following a 0.9 percent drop in March. Wholesale chicken eggs
tumbled 33.9 percent in April.
Prices for services edged up 0.1 percent after slipping 0.2
percent in March.
A key measure of underlying producer price pressures that
excludes food, energy and trade services rose 0.3 percent last
month after being unchanged in March. The so-called core PPI was
up 0.9 percent in the 12 months through April after a similar
increase in March.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
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