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US PPI cools in July as goods prices fall
Headline PPI was flat month to month at 0.0%, while the annual rate slowed to 4.7% and energy prices declined 3.1% in the month.
US producer inflation eased in July, with the headline PPI rate slowing to 4.7% year over year, below the 4.9% expected. According to Action Forex, the monthly figure improved to 0.0% month over month from a revised -0.1%.
The cooling trend was concentrated in goods, where prices fell 0.7% month over month, while energy and food declined further. Energy prices dropped 3.1% month over month and food fell 0.9%, while goods excluding food and energy rose only 0.1%.
Services were firmer but uneven, with some components declining even as others rose. Trade services slipped -0.1% and transportation and warehousing fell -1.8%, while other services increased 0.6%, and construction prices jumped 2.2%.
A key caution came from the Fed’s preferred underlying producer-price gauge excluding food, energy, and trade services. Action Forex said that measure accelerated from 0.1% to 0.4% month over month even as its annual rate eased to 4.7%, and it noted that the report reduces the immediate case for another Fed hike but may not be enough for policymakers to declare victory before August data.