US Producer Prices Rise

The producer price index rose 0.4% in August, matching forecasts and accelerating from July’s upwardly revised 0.1% gain; core PPI excluding food and energy increased 0.2%, below the 0.3% estimate. Final-demand prices were up 5.4% from a year earlier, after a 4.8% annual increase in July. Energy costs drove the increase, with final-demand goods up 1.1% and diesel averaging $5.98 a gallon, up 61% from a year earlier. The data arrived before the August consumer price index report and the Fed’s Sept. 16 interest-rate decision.