New Delhi [India], May 13 : US producer prices recorded their sharpest monthly increase in more than four years in April, according to the latest Economic News Release issued by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS).
The release stated that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for final demand increased 1.4 per cent in April on a seasonally adjusted basis, following gains of 0.7 per cent in March and 0.6 per cent in February. The BLS said the April rise was "the largest advance since rising 1.7 per cent in March 2022."
On a yearly basis, the index for final demand rose 6.0 per cent for the 12 months ended in April, marking "the largest 12-month increase since moving up 6.4 percent in December 2022," the release added.
Producer prices are the net revenues received by domestic manufacturers and service providers for their output.
According to the BLS, nearly 60 per cent of the April increase in final demand prices was due to a 1.2 per cent rise in final demand services, while prices for final demand goods increased 2.0 per cent.
The release noted that the index for final demand services posted "the largest increase since moving up 1.3 percent in March 2022." It added that "two-thirds of the broad-based advance in April can be traced to a 2.7-percent jump in margins for final demand trade services."
Among services categories, the BLS said "a major factor in the April advance in prices for final demand services was a 3.5-percent increase in margins for machinery and equipment wholesaling." Truck transportation of freight, fuels and lubricants retailing, chemicals and allied products wholesaling and legal services also recorded increases.
On the goods side, the release stated that more than three-fourths of the increase in final demand goods prices was linked to a "7.8-percent jump in prices for final demand energy."
The BLS further said that "over 40 percent of the April advance in prices for final demand goods can be attributed to a 15.6-percent increase in the index for gasoline." Prices for jet fuel, diesel fuel, industrial chemicals and residual fuels also moved higher during the month.
The release also showed continued inflationary pressure in intermediate demand categories.
"Intermediate demand" means the demand for goods and services that are used to produce other goods and services -- not products bought directly by final consumers.
Prices for processed goods for intermediate demand rose 2.7 per cent in April, marking the sixth consecutive monthly increase. The BLS said prices for processed energy goods moved up 7.8 per cent during the month.
Meanwhile, prices for unprocessed goods for intermediate demand increased 4.1 per cent in April, with the release noting that "more than 80 percent of the April advance can be traced to the index for unprocessed energy materials, which moved up 9.2 percent."
The BLS said crude petroleum prices climbed 11.3 per cent in April and accounted for nearly three-fourths of the increase in unprocessed goods for intermediate demand.
Services for intermediate demand also recorded their biggest rise since March 2022, increasing 1.1 per cent in April, led by higher transportation and warehousing costs.
According to the release, prices for truck transportation of freight increased 8.1 per cent during the month, while internet advertising sales, freight forwarding and courier services also moved higher.