span>span>Wednesday 18th March 2026/span>span> - 14:05 (GMT)/span>/span>
US producer prices rose sharply in February, with the producer price index (PPI) increasing 0.7% month-on-month, up from 0.5% in January and well above market expectations of 0.3%. The reading marks the largest monthly increase in seven months and suggests cost pressures are building again at the wholesale level.
Goods prices led the advance, rising 1.1% - the strongest increase since August 2023. The surge was driven in large part by a sharp 48.9% jump in the cost of fresh and dry vegetables. Prices also increased for diesel fuel, chicken eggs, gasoline, jet fuel and tobacco products.
Some components moved in the opposite direction. Prices for jewellery and jewellery products fell 4%, while declines were also recorded in home heating oil and soft drink prices.
Services inflation rose a more modest 0.5%, the slowest pace in three months. Within the category, traveller accommodation services saw the largest increase, climbing 5.7% and making the biggest contribution to the overall rise in service prices.
Core producer prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.5% on the month following a 0.8% increase in January and also exceeded expectations of 0.3%. On an annual basis, headline producer inflation accelerated to 3.4%, the highest level in a year, while core producer inflation climbed to 3.9%, underscoring the persistence of underlying price pressures in the US economy.
