Wholesale prices jumped again in January, up 9.7%. On a monthly basis, prices rose 1% in January fueling the highest inflation in decades.
Prices at the wholesale level jumped twice the expected level in January as inflation pressures were unabated to start the year, the Labor Department said Tuesday.
The producer price index, which measures final-demand goods and services, increased 1% for the month, against the Dow Jones estimate for 0.5%. Over the past 12 months the gauge rose an unadjusted 9.7%, close to a record in data going back to 2010.
Excluding food, energy and trade services, co-called core PPI increased 0.9% for the month, well ahead of the 0.4% estimate. For the 12-month period, the measure increased 6.9%… goods prices outweighed those for services, rising 1.3% and 0.7% respectively.
Final demand energy prices jumped 2.5% in January, while food rose 1.6%.
Nearly all central bank policymakers say they expect a rate increase next month, and the market is pricing in a strong possibility of a 1.75 percentage point increase by the end of 2022.
MacDailyNews Take: Obviously, inflation is an ongoing concern for everyone – and every company – involved in the U.S. economy.
‘Tis best to get a handle on inflation, if you know how, while you still can. – MacDailyNews, May 11, 2021
Earlier this month, Interactive Brokers founder Thomas Peterffy said, “Inflation is 7% — 1% or 2% [in interest rate hikes] doesn’t mean anything. If they really wanted to stop inflation, they would have to raise rates to 4%, 5%, 6%.”
Inflation is repudiation. — Calvin Coolidge
When a business or an individual spends more than it makes, it goes bankrupt. When government does it, it sends you the bill. And when government does it for 40 years, the bill comes in two ways: higher taxes and inflation. Make no mistake about it, inflation is a tax and not by accident. — Ronald Reagan
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