WASHINGTON, July 15 U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in June, another indication that inflation was retreating before the recent escalation in the Middle East conflict.
The Producer Price Index for final demand dropped 0.3% last month after a downwardly revised 0.6% increase in May, the Labor Department’s Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI unchanged after a previously reported 1.1% advance in May. In the 12 months through June, the PPI increased 5.5% after rising 6.0% in May. A 1.4% decline in goods prices, the largest since July 2022, accounted for the decrease in the PPI over the month.
Goods prices were weighed down by a 6.4% drop in the cost of energy products. Wholesale food prices fell 0.6%. Prices for services rose 0.2%.