By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. wholesale prices rose 0.2% in May, the slowest pace in 10 months, as the cost of food fell and the increase in energy prices tapered off, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The more closely followed core producer index also rose 0.2% in May. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted increases of 0.1% for overall producer prices and 0.2% for the core rate. Food costs dropped 1.4% last month, owing mainly to lower vegetable prices, to mark the biggest one-month decline in almost a year. Energy prices, meanwhile, rose 1.5% in May, the slowest rate since September. The price index for intermediate goods rose 0.9% and crude prices dropped 4.0%.
