Wholesale prices surprisingly fell slightly in August, providing breathing room for the Federal Reserve to approve an interest rate cut at its meeting this month, according to a Bureau of Labor Statistics report Wednesday.
The producer price index, which measures input costs across a broad array of goods and services, dropped 0.1% for the month, after a downwardly revised 0.7% increase in July and well off the Dow Jones estimate for a 0.3% rise. On a 12-month basis, the headline PPI saw a 2.6% gain.
The core PPI, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, also was off 0.1% after being expected to climb 0.3% as well. Excluding food, energy and trade, the PPI posted a 0.3% gain and was up 2.8% from a year ago.
Stock market futures gained after the release while Treasury yields were slightly negative.
The release comes a week ahead of when the central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee releases its decision on its key overnight borrowing rate.
