Investing.com -- US producer prices held flat in September, potentially pointing to a cooling inflation picture as the Federal Reserve contemplates its next interest rate decisions.
The producer price index for final demand was unchanged last month versus August, easing from a prior reading of 0.2% and below expectations for an uptick of 0.1%.
Year-on-year, the index increased by 1.8%, slower than an upwardly revised mark of 1.9% in August, according to data from the Labor Department on Friday. Economists had called for a rise of 1.6%.
Services costs moved up by 0.2% following growth of 0.4% in August, driven by a 3.0% jump in the index for deposit services, the Labor Department said. Meanwhile, the index for final demand goods dipped by 0.2%.
The numbers come after separate data earlier this week showed that consumer price growth slowed on an annualized basis in September, but was also faster than expectations.
Elsewhere, seasonally-adjusted claims for first-time unemployment benefits climbed to 258,000 in the week ended on Oct. 5, up from an unrevised level of 225,000 in the prior week. It was the highest level for initial claims since August 2023.
Fed policymakers are keeping tabs on these figures as they attempt to engineer a "soft landing" for the US economy, in which a period of elevated interest rates successfully quells price growth without sparking a deep downturn in labor demand or broader activity.
Last month, the Fed slashed borrowing costs by an outsized 50 basis points, arguing that it was necessary to help underpin the jobs market during a time of waning inflation. However, minutes from the meeting released this week indicated that an unspecified number of policymakers backed a smaller quarter-point cut, citing concerns that price growth remains above their stated 2% target.