By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - U.S. wholesale prices jumped a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in August on higher fuel and food costs, the Labor Department said Friday. Excluding the volatile categories of food and energy, core wholesale prices were unchanged. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had predicted a 0.2% increase in the overall producer price index and a 0.1% rise in core PPI. Energy prices climbed 0.8% and the wholesale cost of food moved up 0.6%, spurred by a spike in vegetables. Over the past year, wholesale prices have risen an unadjusted 1.4% overall and by 1.1% on a core basis.
