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.