Washington, DC, April 18, 2006--Producer prices rose 0.5% in March as gasoline prices showed the biggest gain in 16 months, according to a report from the Labor Department.
The core producer price index, which eliminates food and energy costs, increased 0.1% in March, the smallest gain since November.
Economists were expecting the PPI to rise 0.4% and the core to rise 0.2%.
The PPI is up 3.5% in the past year, the lowest year-over-year gain since September 2004. Core prices are up 1.7% in the past year, the same year-over-year gain as last month. Prices fell further back in the production pipeline.
