Wholesale prices rose more than expected in January — one day after government data showed the pace of inflation for US consumers rose unexpectedly last month.
The Labor Department’s Producer Price Index soared 3.4% in January versus a year earlier, blowing past expectations of a 3.2% rise, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday.
That’s after data on Wednesday showed consumer prices rose 3% last month — ahead of economists’ forecasts that it would be even with an already steep 2.9% gain seen in December.
The latest wholesale figures further dimmed investors’ hopes for interest rate cuts in the near term, and even stoked fears that central bankers may be tempted to raise rates.
The PPI report confirms “that inflation did indeed come roaring back in January, and makes the Federal Reserve’s path much clearer, since there is arguably zero reason to cut interest rates right now,” Paul Stanley, chief investment officer at Granite Bay Wealth Management, said in a note.
The PPI rose 0.4% in January compared to the month before, above expectations of a 0.2% jump, according to government data. Wholesale prices had jumped 0.5% in December.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones ticked up less than 1% on Thursday morning, as the heated inflation came as less of a shock after Wednesday’s CPI report.
On Wednesday, President Trump slammed his predecessor Joe Biden for the downbeat consumer report, which gathered data from the Democrat’s last month in office.
The president also placed fresh pressure on Fed Chair Jerome Powell to immediately slash rates.
“Interest Rates should be lowered, something which would go hand in hand with upcoming Tariffs!!! Lets Rock and Roll, America!!!” he wrote in a post on Truth Social on Wednesday morning.
On Wednesday, while testifying before the House Financial Services Committee, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank had made “great progress” on inflation, “but we’re not quite there yet. So we want to keep policy restrictive for now.”
Over the past 12 months through January, core wholesale prices, which exclude volatile food and energy prices, rose 3.6%, the Labor Department said Thursday.
Core wholesale prices rose 0.1% in January from the month before, less than the 0.3% jump expected, according to the data.
More than a third of the January rise in wholesale inflation was caused by an uptick in hotel and motel prices, which grew 5.7% last month, according to the data.
A 10.4% increase in diesel fuel prices also largely contributed to the wholesale inflation figures, as well as rising egg prices as a rampant case of avian flu causes shortages.
The national retail price for caged large white eggs jumped about 25% in January from the month before, according to the US Agriculture Department.
The PPI report did not uncover anything new or shocking that would sway central bankers to change their stance on rate cuts, according to Bill Adams, chief economist at Comerica Bank.
“They are on hold near-term, and are likely though not assured to make a single rate cut in 2025 if prices with lots of momentum like housing and residential rents continue to cool and offset upward pressures on inflation from post-election changes to economic policy,” Adams said in a note.
It is unclear what impact some of Trump’s policies, like hefty tariffs and mass deportations, will have, though some economists have warned the taxes could reheat inflation.
“The resurgence of inflation comes at a unique time, as the economy braces for tariffs, which if sustained, could add yet another inflationary pressure,” Stanley said.
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