The Producer Price Index declined 0.6% in February after increasing by 1.4% in January. The consensus was looking for a smaller decline of 0.2%.
Energy prices contributed to the decline, falling 2.9% for the month. Gasoline prices fell 7.4% while heating oil and distallate prices fell 5.6%. Crude oil fell 8.7% in February.
Core prices rose 0.1%, in-line with consensus expectations.
Inflation continues to remain subdued as the country emerges from the worst recession since the 1930s with unemployment at 9.7%.
