US producer inflation rises 8.7% annually in August, slowing from 9.8% gain in July

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - US producer inflation annually rose 8.7% in August, according to Labor Department figures released on Wednesday.

The latest figure is a slowdown from July’s 9.8% increase and the 11.3% gain in June, when producer prices saw their largest annual jump since a record 11.6% gain this March.

The Producer Price Index (PPI), which measures changes in the price of goods and services from a producer perspective, came in lower than the 8.8% market estimate.

On a monthly basis, the PPI declined 0.1% in August, in line with the market expectations. The figure for July was revised from a decrease of 0.5% to one of 0.4%.

"The index for final demand goods fell 1.2 percent in August after declining 1.7 percent in July. The August decrease can be traced to a 6.0-percent drop in prices for final demand energy," the department said in a statement.

Core producer prices, which exclude food, energy, and trade, moved up 0.2% in August on a monthly basis, after rising 0.1% in July.

The core PPI in August climbed 5.6% on an annual basis, also easing from a 5.8% year-on-year gain seen the month before.