US producer prices unexpectedly fall in June

WASHINGTON — U.S. producer prices unexpectedly fell in June, another indication that inflation was retreating before the recent escalation in the Middle East conflict.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand dropped 0.3 percent last month after a downwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in May, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Wednesday.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the PPI unchanged after a previously reported 1.1 percent advance in May.

In the 12 months through June, the PPI increased 5.5 percent after rising 6.0 percent in May.

A 1.4 percent decline in goods prices, the largest since July 2022, accounted for the decrease in the PPI over the month.

Goods prices were weighed down by a 6.4 percent drop in the cost of energy products.

Wholesale food prices fell 0.6 percent.

Prices for services rose 0.2 percent.

The ceasefire between the United States and Iran collapsed last week after commercial tankers came under fire in the Strait of Hormuz, triggering military strikes between the United States and Iran.

Oil prices rose to a four-week high ...