Surge in Energy Prices Drives US PPI Data Soaring, Inflationary "Flames" Reignite

Odaily Planet Daily News Under continuous pressure from upstream costs, the US annual PPI rate in April recorded its largest increase in over three years, with inflationary pressures re-emerging. Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics on Wednesday showed that, on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Producer Price Index rose 1.4% month-over-month in April, far exceeding the 0.5% expected in a Dow Jones survey and higher than March's upwardly revised 0.7%. This marks the largest single-month increase since March 2022. On a year-over-year basis, April PPI rose 6%, hitting its highest level since December 2022. Excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 1% month-over-month, surpassing the expected 0.4%. Further stripping out food, energy, and trade services, PPI rose 0.6% month-over-month. Similar to the surge in CPI data released on Tuesday, energy prices were also the fundamental cause of the unexpectedly large increase in April PPI data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics stated that in the composition of PPI, about three-quarters of the increase in goods prices was driven by final demand energy prices, which rose 7.8% for the month. Of that, over 40% could be attributed to a 15.6% surge in gasoline prices. During the month, impacted by the Iran conflict's shock to the entire energy sector, US gasoline prices had already far exceeded $4 per gallon. (Jin Shi)