Wholesale inflation in US picked up in July after pressures eased

Published

2 years ago

August 12, 2023

admin

Wholesale prices in the United States picked up slightly in July yet still suggested that inflationary pressures have eased this year since reaching alarming heights in 2022.

The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index which measures inflation before it hits consumers rose 0.8% last month from July 2022.

The latest figure followed a 0.2% year-over-year increase in June, which had been the smallest annual rise since August 2020.

On a month-to-month basis, producer prices rose 0.3% from June to July, up from no change from May to June.

Last month’s increase was the biggest since January. An increase in services prices, especially for management of investment portfolios, drove the month-to-month increase in wholesale inflation.

Wholesale meat prices also rose sharply in July.

Analysts said the July rise in wholesale prices, from the previous month’s low levels, still reflects an overall easing inflation trend.

The figures the Labor Department issued Friday reflect prices charged by manufacturers, farmers and wholesalers.

The figures can provide an early sign of how fast consumer inflation will rise in the coming months.

Since peaking at 11.7% in March 2022, wholesale inflation has steadily tumbled in the face of the Federal Reserve’s 11 interest rate hikes.

Excluding volatile food and energy prices, “core” wholesale inflation rose 2.4% from July 2022, the same year-over-year increase that was reported for June.

Measured month to month, core producer prices increased 0.3% from June to July after falling 0.1% from May to June.

On Thursday, the government reported that consumer prices rose 3.3% in July from 12 months earlier, an uptick from June’s 3% year-over-year increase.

But in an encouraging sign, core consumer inflation rose just 0.2% from June, matching the smallest month-to-month increase in nearly two years.

By all measures, inflation has cooled over the past year, moving closer to the Feds 2% target level but still remaining persistently above it.

The moderating pace of price increases, combined with a resilient job market, has raised hopes that the Fed may achieve a difficult soft landing: Raising rates enough to slow borrowing and tame inflation without causing a painful recession.

Many economists and market analysts think the Feds most recent rate hike in July could prove to be its last.

Before the Fed next meets Sept. 19-20 to decide whether to continue raising rates, it will review several additional economic reports.

They include another monthly report on consumer prices; the latest reading of the Feds favored inflation gauge; and the August jobs report.

Inflation began surging in 2021, propelled by an unexpectedly robust bounce-back from the 2020 pandemic recession.

By June 2022, consumer prices had soared 9.1% from a year earlier, the biggest such jump in four decades.

Much of the price acceleration resulted from clogged supply chains: Ports, factories and freight yards were overwhelmed by the explosive economic rebound.

The result was delays, parts shortages and higher prices.

But supply-chain backlogs have eased in the past year, sharply reducing upward pressure on goods prices.

Prices of long-lasting manufactured goods actually dipped in June.

World

Trump just wants a Ukraine-Russia deal – will Putin or Zelenskyy blink first?

Published

50 mins ago

March 20, 2025

admin

Trump just wants a Ukraine-Russia deal - will Putin or Zelenskyy blink first?

The tone has changed totally. It’s a remarkable turnaround from the Oval Office meltdown to the perfect phone call.

President Trump is wholly transactional. His desire for give and take far outweighs any ideological instincts. He has no particular alignment to Ukraine or, for that matter, to Russia.

He just wants a deal. Peace would stop the killing as he has said repeatedly. It would also allow for deals which can benefit America: recouping the taxpayer money spent on Ukraine and reconnecting the American economy with Russia.

But trumping all that is his legacy and his image. He wants to be seen as the peacemaker president.

Since the Oval Office moment, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy seems now to have recognised all that.

Ukraine’s approach towards Trump has changed. Zelenskyy is now playing his game: transactionalism.

The minerals deal hasn’t dissolved. The indications I am getting is that it’s essentially been upgraded and broadened to a wider scope: fuller economic cooperation.

Zelenskyy needs to encourage America deep into his country economically. Has he bought into the idea that a US economic footprint amounts to a key part of a security guarantee?

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

The old adage is: “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” That’s too true with President Trump.

Zelenskyy now feels like he’s at the table and I am told he doesn’t feel coerced.

The challenges remain huge though: he doesn’t trust Putin. That’s what he tried to tell President Trump in the Oval Office. The performance that day proved to him that Trump is inclined to trust Putin.

Zelenskyy must use transactionalism to draw an impatient Trump in.

President Trump is in a hurry for a deal. He’s inclined to accept wholly disingenuous commitments from Russia, or as one source put it to me: “Trump has a high tolerance for bullshit…”

That’s the jeopardy for Zelenskyy.

US

Trump just wants a Ukraine-Russia deal – will Putin or Zelenskyy blink first?

Published

50 mins ago

March 20, 2025

admin

The tone has changed totally. It’s a remarkable turnaround from the Oval Office meltdown to the perfect phone call.

President Trump is wholly transactional. His desire for give and take far outweighs any ideological instincts. He has no particular alignment to Ukraine or, for that matter, to Russia.

But trumping all that is his legacy and his image. He wants to be seen as the peacemaker president.

Since the Oval Office moment, Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy seems now to have recognised all that.

Ukraine’s approach towards Trump has changed. Zelenskyy is now playing his game: transactionalism.

The minerals deal hasn’t dissolved. The indications I am getting is that it’s essentially been upgraded and broadened to a wider scope: fuller economic cooperation.

Zelenskyy needs to encourage America deep into his country economically. Has he bought into the idea that a US economic footprint amounts to a key part of a security guarantee?

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

The old adage is: “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” That’s too true with President Trump.

Zelenskyy now feels like he’s at the table and I am told he doesn’t feel coerced.

Zelenskyy must use transactionalism to draw an impatient Trump in.

President Trump is in a hurry for a deal. He’s inclined to accept wholly disingenuous commitments from Russia, or as one source put it to me: “Trump has a high tolerance for bullshit…”

That’s the jeopardy for Zelenskyy.

US

Trump 100, Day 60: Zelenskyy and the ‘perfect’ phone call

Published

50 mins ago

March 20, 2025

admin

Trump 100, Day 60: Zelenskyy and the 'perfect' phone call

👉 Follow Trump 100 on your podcast app 👈

From an Oval Office explosion to a “perfect phone call”, Donald Trump has spoken to Volodymyr Zelenskyy – just hours after his conversation with Vladimir Putin.

On Day 60, US correspondents James Matthews, Martha Kelner and Mark Stone discuss what’s happened to the minerals deal and ask: could the US take control of Ukraine’s energy infrastructure?

And as a constitutional showdown brews in America, Trump takes aim at the judiciary, calling for judges who block his policies to be removed. With tensions rising between the executive and judicial branches, could America be heading toward a crisis of power?

If you’ve got a question you’d like James, Martha and Mark to answer, you can email it to trump100@sky.uk.

Help us understand more about our listeners by taking our survey! 👉 This form 👈 should only take a few minutes to complete, and Sky anonymises the responses as much as possible. Thank you.

Don’t forget, you can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel.