MW: Producer prices rise 0.2% in May on energy prices
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Producer prices rose 0.2% in May, after seasonal adjustments, with higher energy prices offsetting a drop in food prices, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The core producer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, fell 0.1%. Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected the overall producer price index to rise 0.5% and for the core to gain 0.1%. In the past year the producer price index has dropped 5%, the biggest year-over-year decline since August 1949, the government said. However, the core producer price index has gained 3% over the past year. In April, the producer price index rose 0.3%, while the core rose 0.1%.
