WASHINGTON, Feb. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. producers paid 0.8 percent more for finished goods in January compared to November, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday.
Price increases fell between December's 0.9 percent price gain and a 0.7 percent gain in November. It was the seventh consecutive month prices have risen for producers.
On a 12-month, unadjusted basis prices rose 3.6 percent in the month, down from a 12-month increase of 4 percent in December.
Energy prices for the month rose 1.8 percent, while food prices rose 0.3 percent.
For producers, gasoline prices rose 6.9 percent, providing most of the lift in energy prices.
Core prices, which exclude both of those categories, rose 0.5 percent after rising 0.2 percent a month ago.
Forty percent of the increase in core prices was attributed to a 1.4 percent rise in the price index for pharmaceuticals, the report said.
