Forexpros – Core producer price inflation in the U.S. rose more-than-expected in January, official data showed on Thursday. In a report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said that the core producer price index rose 0.4% in January, above expectations for a 0.1% increase. Core PPI rose by an unrevised 0.3% in December. Core produces prices rose at an annualized rate of 3.0% last month, the fastest increase since June 2009. Analysts had expected core prices to increase at a rate of 2.7% after rising 3.0% in December. Core prices are viewed by the Federal Reserve as a better gauge of longer-term inflationary pressure because they exclude the volatile food and energy categories. The report showed that PPI rose less-than-expected by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% in January, below expectations for a 0.3% gain. Producer prices declined by an unrevised 0.1% in December. Year-over-year, the producer price index rose at an annualized rate of 4.1% last month, in line with expectations after advancing at a rate of 4.8% in the preceding month. Following the release of the data, the U.S. dollar held on to gains against the euro, with EUR/USD shedding 0.46% to trade at 1.3006. Meanwhile, U.S. stock future indices turned higher after the release of the data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures pointed to a modest gain of 0.05%, S&P 500 futures pointed to a flat open, while the Nasdaq 100 futures pointed to a gain of 0.15%.

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