Wholesale inflation in US picked up in July after pressures eased

Published

2 years ago

August 18, 2023

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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.

US

‘Immigration is killing Europe’: Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland

Published

2 hours ago

July 26, 2025

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'Immigration is killing Europe': Donald Trump issues warning to leaders as he arrives in Scotland

Donald Trump has landed in Scotland ahead of a four-day trip, which includes high-level meetings, praising Sir Keir Starmer as “a good man” but also calling illegal migration a “horrible invasion” that was “killing Europe”.

Crowds gathered at Prestwick Airport in Ayrshire amid a major security operation for the US president’s visit.

Mr Trump told reporters: “I like your prime minister. He’s slightly more liberal than I am… but he’s a good man… he got a trade deal done. It’s a good deal for the UK.”

Trump latest: Donald Trump arrives in Scotland

The pair are expected to discuss potential changes to the UK-US trade deal which came into force last month.

Trump left Air Force One to head to Turnberry, one of his Scottish golf courses. Part of the trip will include the opening of another course in Aberdeenshire, billed as “the greatest 36 holes in golf”.

“There’s no place like Turnberry. It’s the best, probably the best course in the world. And I would say Aberdeen is right up there,” the US president said.

“Sean Connery helped get me the [planning] permits. If it weren’t for Sean Connery, we wouldn’t have those great courses,” he added.

During the trip, President Trump will also hold discussions with Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney and EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who is keen to secure a trade deal with the US.

Mr Trump told reporters there was “a good 50-50 chance” of an agreement with the EU but added there were “maybe 20 different” sticking points.

EU diplomats say a deal could result in a broad 15% tariff on EU goods and half of the 30% Trump is threatening to impose by 1 August.

The US president touched on illegal immigration and gave European leaders a stark warning.

“You better get your act together or you’re not going to have Europe anymore. You got to get your act together,” he said.

“But you’re allowing it to happen to your countries and you got to stop this horrible invasion that’s happening to Europe. Immigration is killing Europe,” he told reporters.

He was also scathing about the installation of wind turbines across Europe.

“Stop the windmills. You’re ruining your countries,” he said. “It’s so sad. You fly over and you see these windmills all over the place, ruining your beautiful fields and valleys and killing your birds.”

Domestically, President Trump faces the biggest political crisis of his second term in office over his administration’s handling of files linked to disgraced financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who died in prison in 2019.

He faced another round of questions after stepping off Air Force One. “You’re making a big thing over something that’s not a big thing. I’m focused on making deals, not on conspiracy theories that you are,” he said.

Mr Trump added that “now’s not the time” to discuss a pardon for Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s imprisoned accomplice.

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While the president’s visit did attract some enthusiastic flag-waving supporters at Prestwick Airport, he is also likely to trigger a number of protests, prompting Police Scotland to call in support from other forces in the UK.

The Stop Trump Scotland group has planned demonstrations on Saturday in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dumfries.

About 70% of Scots have an unfavourable opinion of Trump, while 18% have a positive opinion, an Ipsos poll in March found.

President Trump is staying at his Turnberry property on Scotland’s west coast this weekend, before travelling to Aberdeenshire on Monday, where he will open a second 18-hole course.

He is due to return to the UK in September for a state visit hosted by the King – the first world leader in modern times to undertake two UK state visits.

UK