PPI Up 1%, Core Unchanged

Washington, DC, April 13, 2007–Producer prices rose1.0 percent in March, according to a report from the Labor Department.

The 1.0 percent gain followed a 1.3 percent increase in February. The index, which excludes fuel and food were was unchanged after increasing for four straight months.

Economists had forecast an increase of 0.7 percent in the PPI and an increase of 0.2 percent in the core index.

Producer prices rose 3.2 percent from March 2006, compared with a 2.5 percent gain in the 12 months ended in February. The year-over-year change in prices was the biggest since August.

Prices excluding food and energy rose 1.7 percent from a year earlier, compared with a 1.8 percent gain in the 12 months ended in February. They were projected to increase 1.8 percent from March 2006, according to the survey median.