Washington, DC, April 19--Producer prices rose 0.7% in March, according to the Labor Department.
Core prices, which exclude food and energy, were up by 0.1% in March, the agency said.
Analysts had forecast an increase of 0.6% in the index and a 0.3% gain in the core rate.
The producer price index is now up 4.9% in the past 12 months. The core rate is up 2.6%. The index had risen 0.4% in February, with the core rate up 0.1%.
