Wholesale inflation in the United States surged again last month, rising 9.7% from a year earlier in a sign that price pressures remain high at all levels of the economy.
The Labor Department said Tuesday that its producer price index — which measures inflation before it reaches consumers — jumped 1% from December. The year-over-year increase was down from the record 9.8% recorded in both November and December but was well above what economists had been expecting.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, wholesale inflation rose 0.8% from December and 8.3% from January 2021.
Last week, the government reported that inflation at the consumer level soared over the past year at its highest rate in four decades, squeezing households, wiping out pay raises and reinforcing the Federal Reserve’s decision to begin raising borrowing rates. The 7.5% price surge ranged across the economy, from food and furniture to apartment rents, airline fares and electricity.
Inflation, under control for four decades, re-emerged as an economic issue last year as the United States rebounded with unexpected speed from 2020's short but devastating coronavirus recession. Caught off guard by the bounce-back, companies scrambled to find supplies and workers to meet an unexpected surge in orders from customers flush with government relief checks. Factories, ports and freight yards came under strain. Shipments were delayed and prices began to rise.
The Labor Department report showed that wholesale goods prices rose 1.3% last month from December and services climbed 0.7%, pulled up by a steep increase in the cost of outpatient hospital services.
“The latest advance in producer prices was driven by another strong gain in goods prices, but increases in services prices continued to broaden,'' economists Mahir Rasheed and Kathy Bostjancic of Oxford Economics wrote in a research report. “The combination of stubborn supply disruptions and elevated energy prices will prevent producer prices from reverting to more normal patterns until later this year.''
Economists expect inflationary pressure to drop this year as supply chain bottlenecks begin to ease and the Federal Reserve begins to push up interest rates. And consumers will not be receiving government relief checks.
Nvidia on Wednesday became the first public company to reach a market capitalization of $5 trillion. The ravenous appetite for the Silicon Valley company’s chips is the main reason that the company’s stock price has increased so rapidly since early 2023.
Chris Williamson, Chief Business Economist at S&P Global, breaks down September’s CPI print and inflation trends, explaining what it means for markets.
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
The stunning indictment that led to the arrest of more than 30 people — including Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and other NBA figures — has drawn new scrutiny of the booming business of sports betting in the U.S. The multibillion-dollar industry has made it easy for sports fans — and even some players — to wager on everything from the outcome of games to that of a single play with just a few taps of a cellphone. But regulating the rapidly-growing industry has proven to be a challenge. Professional sports leagues’ own role in promoting gambling has also raised eyebrows.
