May 13 (UPI) — Final demand wholesale inflation rose by 6% on an annual basis in April, marking the largest increase since 2022, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.
More than three-quarters of the 2% increase in final demand goods in April was attributed to a 7.8% increase in energy prices. Final demand services moved up 1.2%, pushed along largely by a 2.7% increase in trade services.
The producer price index increased by a seasonally adjusted 1.4% in April, double the rate increase in March. The increase outpaced the Dow Jones consensus estimate of 0.5%. It is the largest monthly increase since March 2022.
The annual 6% wholesale inflation increase is the largest since December 2022.
Machinery and equipment wholesaling was another big factor in rising inflation. Final demand service prices for machinery and equipment rose by 3.5%.
Final demand excluding volatile food and energy rose 0.6%, the largest bump since October. For the year ending in April, final demand excluding food and energy was up 4.4%, the largest increase since February 2023.
By commodity type, the index for unprocessed goods went up 4.1%. Intermediate demand goods increased 2.7% for the month, the sixth consecutive monthly increase.
About 80% of the index increase for unprocessed goods for intermediate demand can be attributed to unprocessed energy materials which increased 9.2%. Crude petroleum rose by 11.3%.
Unprocessed non-food materials and excluding energy fell by 1%.
