Wholesale prices rose less than expected in December, a positive sign for the economy amid recent market fears that inflation isn't falling as quickly as hoped to the Federal Reserve's 2% target.
Tuesday's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that its producer price index (PPI) — which tracks the price changes companies see — rose 3.3%% from the year prior, up from the 3% seen in November but below the 3.5% increase economists had projected. On a monthly basis, prices increased 0.2%, below the 0.4% increase economists had expected.
Excluding food and energy, "core" prices rose 3.5% year-over-year, above November's 3.4% gain. Economists had expected an increase of 3.8%. Meanwhile, month-over-month core prices were unchanged, below the 0.3% increase economists had expected and the 0.2% gain seen last month.
