Wholesale prices declined 0.5% in March, though data were mixed

April 13 (UPI) -- Following a report showing consumer inflation is easing, U.S. data Thursday show wholesale prices declined 0.5% month-on-month to March and by 2.7% annually.

The Producer Price Index, a gauge of prices at the wholesale level, declined following a 0.4% increase in January and no change month-on-month to February. Much of the decline was attributed to wholesale goods related to energy, though the price for vegetables also declined.

"Conversely, prices for light motor trucks increased 0.7%," Thursday's report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics read. "The indexes for chicken eggs and for meats also moved higher."

Commodities were suppressed during the first quarter, with the price for Brent crude oil struggling to break out of the $80-per-barrel range. The March PPI data do not reflect an early April decision from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting countries to trim production levels next month.

Brent crude oil was trading near $87 on Thursday. Stripping out the volatile items such as food, energy and trade services, PPI increased by 0.1% in March, after a 0.2% increase in February.

At the consumer level, data from Wednesday showed prices increased 0.1% for March and 5% from a year ago, well below levels near 10% last summer. Energy prices fell by 3.5%, before OPEC's announcement. Egg prices notably fell 10.9% last month, after previous increases.

The decline in consumer-level inflation came after the Federal Reserve in March raised interest rates by a quarter percentage point, increasing the current target range from 4.75% to 5% in its ongoing battle to arrest consumer-level inflation.

The increase marked the 10th straight interest rate hike by the central bank as it said it was undeterred by the failings of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank. Another rate hike is expected next month as consumer-level inflation is still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate.

Markets were mixed at the 9:30 a.m. EDT start of trading in New York. The Dow was down by 0.1%, while there was a 0.25% gain for the S&P 500. The tech-heavy NASDAQ was up by 0.92% and Brent was down 0.6% to trade at $86.84 per barrel.