By Geoffrey Smith
Investing.com -- U.S. producer prices rose by less than expected in May, but the fall in pipeline inflation pressures was barely enough to soothe longer-term worries about the cost of living.
Overall producer prices rose 0.8% from April, but the core PPI index that strips out more volatile elements of the index rose by 0.5% rather than the 0.6% forecast. In addition, March's increases were revised down to 0.4% from 0.5% for the overall index and to 0.2% from 0.4% for the core index.
Around 40% of the increase in prices for goods was due to the rise in gasoline prices during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said. A near 40% rise in natural gas prices also helped to push up the overall index. But that obscured a more benign environment for other goods: food prices, conspicuously, failed to rise for the first time this year, while iron and steel scrap prices fell nearly 12%.
As a result, the annual rate of factory-gate inflation eased fractionally to 10.8% from a downwardly revised 10.9% in March.
Greg Daco, chief economist with EY, said via Twitter that the data suggest a slight moderation in price pressures, noting that profit margin expansion - which has been the primary driver of PPI inflation for much of the last three years - is no longer accelerating. He saw "tentative signs" that it may in fact be cooling. Margins for fuel and lubricants fell sharply in the month, while margins for portfolio management and accommodation also narrowed.
Any downside surprise in measures of inflation is likely to be greeted with relief by markets after last week's big upside surprise in consumer prices, which has sent bond and stock prices tumbling in anticipation of tighter monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. However, the downward revisions do little to change an overall arc for inflation that is still far in excess of what consumers or central banks will tolerate in the medium term.
U.S. stock futures reacted with guarded optimism. S&P 500 futures rose some 14 points after the news to be up 0.7% in the premarket session. The S&P 500 cash index had fallen nearly 4% on Monday, however.