Producer prices decreased by 0.5% on a monthly basis due to declining good prices, particularly reduced energy prices. Services and fresh and dried vegetable prices both decreased, but price indices for goods like light trucks, chicken eggs, and meats increased.
For the 12 months ending in March, economists anticipated that annual inflation, as determined by the PPI, would come in at 3% and remain unchanged from the previous month. Core PPI, which does not include the more erratic elements of food and energy, decreased by 0.1% for the month and increased by 3.4% over the course of the previous 12 months, down from an earlier upwardly revised number of 4.8%.One of several frequently monitored inflation indicators is the PPI. The producer-centric index is sometimes used as a potential leading indicator of how prices may ultimately arrive at the store level because it captures price fluctuations upstream of the customer.
The PPI has had a severe deceleration since recording an 11.2% spike in June 2022 as supply systems have reestablished themselves after being disrupted by the outbreak and the swift economic rebound that followed. Consumer prices have decreased as well, albeit more gradually.
The BLS reported that the Consumer Price Index for March was 5%, the lowest annualized rate since May 2021.
