Prices at the wholesale level accelerated further in April, part of a broader inflation problem persisting through the U.S. economy, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Thursday.
The producer price index, which tracks how much manufacturers get for their products at their initial sale, rose 0.5% on the month and 11% from a year ago, a decrease from the record 11.5% in March. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a monthly increase of 0.5%.
Excluding food, energy and trade services, core PPI rose 0.6% in April and 6.9% from a year ago, the latter a decline from the 7.1% last month.
Both monthly increases were exactly in line with Dow Jones estimates. Headline PPI rose 1.6% in March while core was up 0.9%.
Those numbers came the day after the BLS reported that consumer prices for goods and services in the marketplace rose 8.3% from a year ago, down from 8.5% in March but still indicative of the worst inflation the U.S. has seen since the early 1980s.
A separate economic report Thursday showed that jobless claims totaled 203,000 for the week ending May 7, an increase of 1,000 from the previous period. That was above the Dow Jones estimate for 194,000.
Continuing claims fell, however, dropping by 44,000 to 1.343 million, the lowest level since Jan. 3, 1970.
While the news has been largely good for the jobs market, it is inflation that is bedeviling policymakers the most and threatening to thwart the expansion. President Joe Biden this week has spoken multiple times about the raging price increases during his administration and set forth several proposals to tackle the problem.
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