Washington, DC, December 19, 2006--Producer prices rose much more than expected in November, as the core producer price index rose by the most since July 1980, the Labor Department said.
The November producer price index climbed by 2 percent, the biggest rise since November 1974, statistics show. The core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 1.3 percent, driven by higher prices for cars and trucks.
Much of the gain in was in energy prices, which rose by 6.1 percent. Gasoline prices rose 17.9 percent; diesel fuel prices increased 14.6 percent.
Wholesale prices for home heating oil climbed by 7.7 percent. Natural gas prices, meanwhile, rose by 5.9 percent at the wholesale level in November.
A 13.7 percent gain in wholesale prices for light motor trucks powered the core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices. Car prices rose 2.2 percent.
Economists were expecting the PPI to rise by 0.7 percent. They also forecast a 0.3 percent rise in the core PPI.
Year over year, the PPI is up 0.9 percent. Year over year, the core PPI is up 1.8 percent.
