Energy pushes up US wholesale price index 0.9 percent

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2007

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A surge in energy costs pushed up US producer prices by a sharper than expected 0.9 percent in May, government data showed Thursday.

The Labor Department's producer price index, a gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, indicated that "core" prices excluding food and energy rose a tamer 0.2 percent.

The headline price index was higher than the rise of 0.6 percent expected on Wall Street, while the core rate -- seen by some experts as a better measure of future price trends -- was in line with forecasts.

Producer prices have now risen 4.1 percent over the past year but core prices are up just 1.6 percent.

A major factor in May was energy prices, which jumped 4.1 percent after a 3.4 percent rise in April. Gasoline prices alone...