A man buys groceries at Lincoln Market on March 10, 2022 in Lefferts Garden Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City.
Michael M. Santiago | Getty Images
Another surge in energy prices sent wholesale commodity prices to their biggest monthly record in February, according to Labor Department data Tuesday.
Final demand prices for goods jumped 2.4% on the month, the biggest change in December 2009 data, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.
This pushed the main producer price index up 0.8% mom, which was actually slightly lower than the Dow Jones estimate of 0.9%.
Excluding food, energy and trade services, the so-called Core Producer Price Index rose just 0.2%, well below the expected 0.6%.
On an annualized basis, the overall PPI rose by 10%, the same as in January, and was the biggest 12-month change on record.
The data came from the week of February 13, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Energy prices rose even more when the war broke out and this will be reflected in next month’s report.
The figures assume that most other inflation indicators are approaching 40-year highs, driven by price increases that have spread not only to volatile gas and food prices, but also to a wide range of consumer goods and services.
However, gasoline was still in the spotlight in February when it came to end-demand prices.
About 40% of the increase in wholesale prices for goods came from gasoline, which rose by 14.8%. Diesel and electricity also contributed to an 8.2% increase in final demand energy prices, while prices for vehicles and equipment and dairy products also rose. Prices for various food products, such as fresh and dried vegetables, as well as beef and veal, also fell.
The PPI is not monitored as closely as the consumer price index, but wholesale costs are priced into the ledger and seen as a precursor to inflation.