Investing.com - U.S. producer prices fell in August, according to data released on Wednesday.
The Labor Department said its producer price index decreased 0.1% last month. In the 12 months through August, the PPI rose 2.8%.
Economists had forecast the PPI rising 0.2% last month and increasing 3.2% from a year ago.
The so-called core PPI decreased by 0.1% from a month earlier and rose 2.3% in the 12 months through August.
Analysts had predicted core PPI to increase 0.2% month-on-month and 2.7% on an annualized basis.
Core PPI is a key gauge of underlying producer price pressures that excludes food and energy costs.
The Federal Reserve keeps its eye on this data because, when producers pay more for goods, they are more likely to pass price increases on to the consumer. In that sense, PPI could be considered a leading indicator of inflation.
The August consumer price index will be released on Thursday.