S&P 500 futures are well down this morning, off 6.7 points for the June contract at 1,193.70, and the Dow futures are down 28 points at 11,031, after the U.S. Department of Labor reported the producer price index for for finished goods for March rose 0.7%, ahead of expectations for a 0.4% increase, following a 0.6% decline in March.
Leading the rise, food prices rose 2.4% in March, the sixth month in a row of price increases, while gasoline prices rose 2.1%.
Add in fears of the labor market heating up, with the Department reporting a drop of 24,000 in initial unemployment claims last week, to 456,000, below analysts’ estimate for 460,000. The prior week’s figure was revised down by 4,000 claims to 480,000.
The U.S. dollar strengthened, rising to $1.3323 per Euro from last night’s closing cross of $1.3399.
The commodity complex drifted down on the news, with prices for the June contract on light sweet crude oil futures down $1.23 at $82.45 per barrel. Gold took a tumble, too, falling $7 to $1,141.20.
