Producer Price Index Rises to Highest Since December 2022

The Producer Price Index (PPI) report published Wednesday reported 6.0 percent producer inflation year-over-year in April. This is the highest since December 2022 under the Biden Administration. The month-over-month reading also increased to 1.4 percent, a similar high to that of March 2022.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics report said that the “40 percent of the April advance in prices for final demand goods can be attributed to a 15.6-percent increase in the index for gasoline,” noting that fuels and industrial chemicals also rose significantly. 

Producer inflation runs ahead of increased consumer prices, as higher costs in production costs are often imparted to consumers.  

Energy prices since Tehran’s closing of the Strait of Hormuz appear to have driven higher PPI numbers, which remain elevated from January and February’s month-over-month readings of 0.6 percent. March’s PPI reading began the upward trend, but that month’s reported 0.7 percent was pulled down by final demand services remaining low in inflation.