US February Wholesale Prices Also Exceed Expectations... Up 0.6% Month-on-Month

PPI Also Exceeds Forecast Following CPI

Following the US Consumer Price Index (CPI), the Producer Price Index (PPI), a wholesale price index, also showed a larger-than-expected increase last month. Analysts suggest that passing the 'last mile'?the final stretch before reaching the target?in the fight against inflation is not easy.

On the 13th (local time), the US Department of Labor announced that the February PPI rose 0.6% month-over-month and 1.6% year-over-year. This significantly exceeded market expectations (0.3% and 1.1%, respectively) and also surpassed the January increase rates (0.3% and 1.0%).

The core PPI, which excludes volatile energy and food prices to show the underlying inflation trend, also rose 0.3% month-over-month and 2.0% year-over-year, exceeding market forecasts (0.2% and 1.9%). The previous month's increases were 0.5% and 2.0%, respectively.

The wholesale price index PPI affects the retail price index CPI with a time lag. With both the CPI released on the 12th and the PPI surpassing market expectations, there is growing speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will maintain a cautious stance on early interest rate cuts at the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting scheduled for the 19th-20th.