The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 14th (local time) that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for June rose 11.3% compared to the same month last year.
This figure is close to the record high of 11.6% set in March, right after Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and is higher than last month's 10.8%. The monthly increase rate was 1.1%, surpassing the previous month's 0.9%.
Wholesale prices for goods rose 2.4% and wholesale prices for services increased 0.4% compared to the previous month, with energy prices jumping 10%, leading the upward trend. The rise in wholesale prices is eventually passed on to consumer prices.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) will hold its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) regular meeting over two days starting on the 26th. Last month, the Fed raised interest rates by 75 basis points (0.75 percentage points, 1 bp = 0.01 percentage points) for the first time in 28 years since 1994.
Following last month, it is generally predicted that the Fed will take another "giant step" (a 0.75 percentage point rate hike) for two consecutive months this month, but there are even claims that a 1 percentage point (100 bp) increase should be made at once.
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