US producer inflation rises 8.5% annually in September, slowing from 8.7% gain in August

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Annual US producer inflation rose 8.5% in September, according to Labor Department figures released on Wednesday.

The latest figures represent a slowdown from August's 8.7% increase and 9.8% gains in July. Producer prices saw their largest annual jump since a record 11.6% gain this March.

However, the Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures changes in the price of goods and services from a producer perspective, came slightly higher than the market estimate of 8.4%.

On a monthly basis, the PPI rose 0.4% in September, also higher than the market expectation of a 0.2% gain. The figure for August was revised from a decrease of 0.1% to one of 0.2%.

"In September, two-thirds of the increase in the index for final demand can be traced to a 0.4-percent rise in prices for final demand services. The index for final demand goods also advanced 0.4 percent," the department said in a statement.

Core producer prices, which exclude food, energy, and trade, moved up 0.4% in September on a monthly basis, after rising 0.2% in August.

The core PPI in September climbed 5.6% on an annual basis, after also gaining 5.6% year-on-year the month before.