Despite the Trump administration's continued tariff policies, both the U.S. consumer price index and wholesale prices in May did not rise as much as previously feared.
The U.S. Department of Labor announced on June 12 (local time) that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for May increased by 0.1% compared to the previous month.
This figure falls short of the 0.2% month-on-month increase that experts surveyed by Dow Jones had expected.
The year-on-year increase was 2.6%.
The core Producer Price Index, which excludes energy and food, also rose by 0.1% from the previous month, again falling short of experts' forecasts of a 0.3% increase. Compared to the same period last year, it rose by 2.7%.
The price of final demand goods increased by 0.2% month-on-month, while the price of final demand services rose by only 0.1% over the same period.
The Producer Price Index, also known as the wholesale price index, is considered a leading indicator for consumer prices, as changes are reflected in final consumer goods prices with a certain time lag.
Following the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) for May, the Producer Price Index also shows that the impact of tariffs has been limited.
The U.S. CPI and core CPI for May, announced the previous day, each rose by only 0.1% from the previous month.
Economic experts anticipate that the impact of the Trump administration's tariff policies on price increases will be reflected over time.
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