Washington, DC, December 10—The producer price index rose 0.5 percent in November, after a 1.7% increase the October, according to a Labor Department report.
Much of the decrease was attributed to falling energy costs.
The core index, which excludes food and energy was up 0.2%, off from October’s 0.3% rate.
In year-on-year terms, the producer-price index was up 5% in November -- the biggest increase in nearly 14 years, the Labor Department said. Excluding food and energy, the index was up 1.9%, accelerating from a 1.8% rate in the year through October.
Analysts were looking for an increase of 0.2 percent rise in the overall index andan increase of 0.3% in the core index
The Fed are set to meet next week and is expected to raise overnight borrowing costs a quarter-percentage point to 2.25 percent as they seek to stay ahead of the inflation curve.
The report showed energy prices climbed 1.8 percent, building on a hefty 6.8 percent increase in October.
Gasoline prices were off 0.7 percent and home heating oil costs tumbled 2.3 percent. However, the cost of residential natural gas soared 6.2 percent and electricity prices gained 1.2 percent.
Food prices, which shot up 1.6 percent in October, rose 0.4 percent last month, the department said.
