US producer prices rise more quickly than expected in September

Wholesale prices in the States rose a tad more quickly than expected last month amid widespread gains.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, in seasonally adjusted terms so-called final demand prices edged up by 0.5% month-on-month in September (consensus: 0.3%).

Energy price gains were again the main culprit, rising by 3.3%, alongside a 0.9% increase in food costs.

On the services side of the equation meanwhile, trade services prices, which include retailers' margins, rose by 0.5% over the month.

In annual terms, total final demand price increases picked up from 2.0% in August to 2.2%.

Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Macroeconomics noted how core services prices recorded an annualised increase of 4.8% over the third quarter, against 1.5% during the prior three-month stretch.

But the gain was driven by an "astonishing" 71% leap in trade services prices in annualised terms which he said could not be squared with the improvement in supply chains post-pandemic.

-- More to follow --