MW: Wholesale prices fall 0.4% in June; core up 0.3%
By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.4% in June as the cost of energy posted the biggest monthly drop in two years, the government reported Thursday. Energy costs sank 2.8%, mostly because of falling gasoline prices. Food prices rose 0.6%, however. Stripping out the volatile food and energy categories, core wholesale prices rose 0.3%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.4% increase in the Producer Price index and a 0.2% rise in the core index. The core number is usually viewed by investors and the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of inflationary pressure. Also in the report, Labor said intermediate prices were unchanged while crude wholesale prices dropped 0.6%.
