U.S. wholesale inflation rose 0.6% in February, higher than economists expected

March 14 (UPI) -- U.S. wholesale inflation in February rose at a pace that exceeded expectations, according to Thursday's Bureau of Labor Statistics report.

The Producer Price Index, or PPI, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in February.

The number outpaced Dow Jones expectations of a 0.3% bump from month to month.

Excluding volatile food and energy, PPI rose 0.3%, also higher than Dow Jones estimates of 0.2%.

On a year-to-year basis the final demand index rose 1.6% from February 2023, which the BLS said was "the largest rise since moving up 1.8% for the 12 months ended September 2023."

Nearly two-thirds of that Producer Price Index increase was due to goods prices ,which rose 1.2%, according to the BLS. On the services side the increase was 0.3%.

"One-third of the February advance in the index for final demand goods can be traced to a 6.8% increase in prices for gasoline," the BLS said. "The indexes for diesel fuel, chicken eggs, jet fuel, beef and veal, and tobacco products also rose. Conversely, prices for hay, hayseeds, and oilseeds decreased 8.3%. The indexes for iron and steel scrap and for asphalt also fell."

Ahead of the PPI report stock futures were up 130 points Thursday morning.

In January PPI rose 0.3% and for the 12 months ending in January that wholesale headline inflation number was 0.9%.

Consumer inflation tracked by the Consumer Price Index Tuesday increased 3.2% over the past year, still above the Fed's 2% target. While it was higher than the Fed wants it aligned with economists' expectations.