Producer prices for goods manufactured and services provided in the United States rose 0.2% in December compared to November, according to the PPI index.
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Wholesale prices in the United States rose much less quickly in December than in previous months, a clearing amid inflation at a 40-year high in 2021, and which is expected to remain strong for several months.
Producer prices for goods manufactured and services provided in the United States rose 0.2% in December compared to November, according to the PPI index released Thursday by the Labor Department.
That’s half the 0.4% that analysts were expecting, and marks a sharp slowdown from November’s 1.0% rise (revised up) and 0.6% of the month of October.
Over the whole of 2021, however, wholesale prices jumped 9.7%, unheard of since this data began to be compiled in 2010.
The PPI index is a measure of inflation, which takes into account prices from the point of view of manufacturers and sellers. The PCE and CPI indices measure them on the consumer side.
The CPI index, which was published on Wednesday, showed inflation of 7% in 2021, the highest since 1982. In December alone, however, the rise was slower than in November, at 0.5 % versus 0.8%.
“Producer prices ended the year on an encouraging note, rising less than expected” in December, notes Mahir Rasheed, economist for Oxford Economics.
But “continued supply disruptions will keep producer prices close to near-short-term highs, especially given the fast-spreading Omicron variant that will stoke inflationary pressures,” he warned.
December’s drop is due “largely (to) a drop in highly volatile energy and food prices,” Cecilia Rouse, chair of President Joe Biden’s Council of Economic Advisers, said in a statement.
The prices of food products fell by 0.5% compared to November, those of energy by 4.1%.
It also “reflects a potential improvement in the prices of products linked to the supply chain of goods and services”, she added, despite “(continuing) difficulties with inflated prices by disruptions in the supply chain. worldwide supply”.
The White House announced on Wednesday that it would take further steps to further address congestion problems at US ports. Initial measures were taken in the fall to speed up the unloading of goods in the port of Los Angeles in particular, the largest in the United States.
The American central bank (Fed) should now raise its key rates faster than expected, in an attempt to curb inflation. The exercise is delicate because the risk is to slow down the economy, which would weigh on employment.
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