Wholesale Prices Fall Slightly in April

Washington, DC, May 19, 2010--Wholesale prices fell modestly in April as the cost of energy and food eased, government data showed.

The main producer price index fell 0.1%, seasonally adjusted. The more closely followed core rate, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2%, the Labor Department reported Tuesday.

Economists had predicted a 0.2% decline in overall produce prices and a 0.1% increase in the core rate.

Over the past 12 months, wholesale prices have risen 5.5%, on an unadjusted basis.

Yet the core rate has risen only 1.0% in the past year, indicating that companies still lack the power to raise the prices of most wholesale goods.