U.S. Producer Price Growth Exceeds Estimates In November

A report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed U.S producer prices increased by more than expected in the month of November.

The Labor Department said its producer price index for final demand rose by 0.3 percent in November, matching upwardly revised increases in October and September.

Economists had expected producer prices to inch up by 0.1 percent compared to the 0.2 percent uptick originally reported for the previous month.

The bigger than expected increase in producer prices was largely due to an advance in prices for services, which climbed by 0.4 percent in November after edging up by 0.1 percent in October.

The service price growth partly reflected an 11.3 percent spike in prices for securities brokerage, dealing, investment advice, and related services.

The report said prices for goods crept up by 0.1 percent in November after climbing by 0.6 percent in October, with a 3.3 percent surge in food prices offset by a 3.3 percent plunge in energy prices.

The Labor Department core producer prices, which exclude prices for food, energy, and trade services moved up by 0.3 percent in November after rising by 0.2 percent in October.

Meanwhile, the report showed the annual rate of producer price growth slowed to 7.4 percent in November from 8.1 percent in October, in line with economist estimates.

The annual rate of growth in core producer prices also slowed to 4.9 percent in November from 5.4 percent in the previous month.

Next Tuesday, the Labor Department is scheduled to release a separate report on consumer price inflation in the month of November.

Consumer prices are expected to increase by 0.5 percent in November after rising by 0.4 percent in October, while core consumer prices are expected to climb by 0.6 percent in November following a 0.3 percent uptick in October.

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