Washington, DC, February 18—The producer price index for finished goods rose 0.3% in January after declining 0.3% in December, according to a report from the Labor Department.
The core index, which excludes food and energy items rose by a surprising 0.8%. The increase in the core index was led by 3.4% jump in the cigarette prices and a 2.8% rise in prices of alcoholic beverages.
Energy prices fell 1% during the month after a 2.5% drop in December, while food prices slipped 0.2% after a 0.1% rise in December.
Economists had forecast a decrease of 0.3% in the overall index and a 0.2% gain in core prices.
On a year-over-year basis, the overall producer price index is up 4.2%.
