Investing.com - U.S. producer prices rose in May, according to data released on Wednesday.
The Labor Department said its producer price index increased 0.5% last month. In the 12 months through May, the PPI rose 3.1%.
Economists had forecast the PPI rising 0.3% last month and increasing 2.8% from a year ago.
The so-called core PPI increased by 0.3% from a month earlier and rose 2.4% in the 12 months through May.
Analysts had predicted core PPI to increase 02% month-on-month and 2.3% 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, so PPI could be considered a leading indicator of inflation.