Wholesale prices in the US just did something they haven’t done since mid-2025: they went down.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on July 15 that the Producer Price Index for final demand fell 0.3% in June 2026, snapping a streak of monthly increases that had kept inflation hawks on high alert. The culprit, or hero depending on your portfolio, was energy. Gasoline prices at the wholesale level cratered 12.0%, and jet fuel wasn’t far behind with a 17.2% decline.
The numbers behind the drop
The broader category of final demand goods prices fell 1.4% in June, the steepest decline since July 2022. Energy prices overall dropped 6.4%, dragging the headline number into negative territory for the first time in close to a year.
On an annual basis, the PPI still rose 5.5% for the 12 months ending in June 2026. But it is a notable cooldown from the 6.5% year-over-year increase recorded in May.
