MW: U.S. PPI rises for second straight month; energy gains
Led by higher energy prices, inflation at the wholesale level rose in February for the second consecutive month, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The producer price index rose 0.1%, driven by a 1.3% gain in energy prices. Meanwhile, food prices fell 1.6%. In January, the PPI rose 0.8%. The February core PPI, which excludes food and energy costs, rose 0.2%, compared with a 0.4% gain in January. Economists polled by MarketWatch were expecting the February PPI to rise 0.4%, and for the core to gain 0.1%.
