By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. wholesale costs climbed 0.3% in November as the price of food increased, mostly for vegetables and chicken, the Labor Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted a 0.1% rise. The increase was driven by higher food prices, which rose 1.0% last month. Energy costs rose a scant 0.1% after falling 1.4% in October. Minus the food and energy categories, so-called core wholesale prices rose 0.1%. Economists were expecting a 0.2% increase in the core rate. Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices have risen 5.7%. That's the smallest year-over-year increase since March. Core prices have climbed a lesser 2.9% in the past 12 months, the lowest increase since June 2009. Intermediate prices, meanwhile, rose 0.2% last month while crude prices jumped 3.8%. The core intermediate index, an indicator of future inflation, fell 0.4% in November.
