Dec. 13 (UPI) — U.S. inflation continues to cool as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday that seasonally adjusted wholesale prices were unchanged in November.
The Producer Price Index increased 0.9% annually in November, below the 1.2% annual pace increase in October, as final demand for the month was flat.
Overall, wholesale inflation was unchanged for both goods and services in November. Final demand prices for October and September were seasonally adjusted to a 0.4% decline and a 0.4% increase respectively.
Within wholesale inflation categories, the BLS Wednesday statement said a “major factor” in the November decrease in prices for unprocessed goods for intermediate demand was the index for crude petroleum, which dropped 9.5%.
“Prices for slaughter steers and heifers, corn, slaughter barrows and gilts, slaughter chickens, and raw cotton also declined. Conversely, the index for carbon steel scrap advanced 8%. Prices for natural gas and for hay, hayseeds, and oilseeds also increased,” the agency said.
A Tuesday Labor Department inflation report showed consumer prices rose 0.1% in November, putting consumer inflation at 3.1% from year-ago levels.
That data is closely watched by the Federal Reserve as it meets Wednesday afternoon to determine whether or not to raise interest rates again in the battle to bring inflation down to 2% annually.
The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged in September, but indicated then that one more interest rate hike was expected by year’s end.
The annual U.S. inflation rate in August was 3.7% compared with 8.3% in August 2022, a marked and clear inflation decline but not yet down to the 2% the Fed wants to achieve.
As inflation continues to decline, the U.S. economy added another 199,000 jobs in November, beating Dow Jones estimates.
