Blame it on gasoline and vegetables: Today, the Department of Labor announced that the producer price index jumped a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in September, the biggest increase since April and ahead of the 0.3%-0.4% economists surveyed by Dow Jones anticipated.
Higher energy prices were the main culprit, rising 2.3%, as gas prices saw gains despite a drop in the per-barrel cost of oil. Food costs, up 0.6%, also contributed to the spike. The core-producer price index, which does not include these volatile components, rose 0.2%, still ahead of forecasts of 0.1%.
Producer prices are up 6.9% year-over-year. Still, not all of those price increases are passed onto consumers: In the 12 months ended in August, the consumer price index is up 3.8%.
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