Diesel prices jumped 24.1% in August. The core producer price index rose 0.3%
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The story behind it
Wholesale prices ran at 5.4% and a rate rise stopped being a hypothetical Read the edition →On the calendar
The US releases that move markets, in New Zealand and Australian time. Economic calendar →
The story behind it
Wholesale prices ran at 5.4% and a rate rise stopped being a hypothetical Read the edition →On the calendar
The US releases that move markets, in New Zealand and Australian time. Economic calendar →What the chart shows
A single fuel did most of the work in America's producer price index for August. Diesel jumped 24.1% in the month, which the report says accounted for more than a third of the entire increase in goods prices. Energy goods rose 4.2%, goods overall 1.1%, and the headline index 0.4%.
The number a central bank watches is the core measure, and it rose 0.3%, with services up just 0.1%. That is the signature of a shock moving through freight and manufacturing rather than a broad rise in prices, though producer prices tend to lead consumer prices by a month or two, so the open question is whether it stays contained.
For anyone with a mortgage the annual rate is the one to note. It reached 5.4%, the highest reading of the year, and futures now lean towards a Fed rate rise on Wednesday. Friday's Sharespective sets out the timetable from here.
The numbers
Month-on-month change in US producer prices for August. The headline index, the core measure, and the goods, energy and diesel components the story singled out.
| Value | |
|---|---|
| Diesel fuel | +24.1% |
| Energy goods | +4.2% |
| Final demand goods | +1.1% |
| Headline producer prices | +0.4% |
| Core, ex food and energy | +0.3% |
How we make these charts: one chart a day from a story in the edition, drawn from the figures the story names and checked against the sources named on the chart before it is published. General information only, not financial advice.
