U.S. Producer Price Growth Matches Estimates In September

(RTTNews) - A long-delayed report released by the Labor Department on Tuesday showed producer prices in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of September.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.3 percent in September after edging down by 0.1 percent in August. The monthly price growth matched expectations.

The report also said the annual rate of growth by producer prices came in at 2.7 percent in September, unchanged from an upwardly revised reading in August.

Economists had expected the annual rate of producer price growth to tick up to 2.7 percent from the 2.6 percent originally reported for the previous month.

The monthly increase by producer prices largely reflected a surge in energy prices, which spiked by 3.5 percent in September after falling by 0.4 percent in August.

The report said prices for food also jumped by 1.1 percent in September after inching up by 0.1 percent in the previous month.

Meanwhile, the Labor Department said prices for services came in unchanged in September following a 0.3 percent decrease in August.

A 0.2 percent dip in prices for transportation services offset a 0.8 percent increase in prices for transportation and warehousing services and a 0.1 percent uptick in prices for other services.

Excluding prices for food, energy and trade services, core producer prices crept up by 0.1 percent in September after rising by 0.3 percent in August. The annual rate of growth by core producer prices came in unchanged at 2.9 percent.