Investing.com – Core producer price inflation in the U.S. rose more-than-expected in December, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the core producer price index rose 0.3% in December, above expectations for a 0.1% increase. Core PPI rose by an unrevised 0.1% in November.
Core produces prices rose at an annualized rate of 3.0% in December, the fastest increase since June 2009. Analysts had expected core prices to increase at a rate of 2.8% after rising 2.9% in November.
Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories.
The report showed that PPI declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in December, confounding expectations for a 0.1% gain. Producer prices rose by an unrevised 0.3% in November.
Year-over-year, the producer price index rose at an annualized rate of 4.8% in December, after advancing at a rate of 5.7% in November. Analysts had expected producer prices to increase at a rate of 5.1%.
Following the release of the data the U.S. dollar extended losses against the euro, with EUR/USD rising 0.83% to trade at 1.2842.
Meanwhile, stock index futures held on to gains following the data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a rise of 0.15%, S&P 500 futures added 0.3%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures indicated a gain of 0.5%.
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