A new report from the Labor Department on Wednesday revealed that U.S. producer prices fell slightly in August, contrary to economists’ expectations. The decline was largely driven by a notable drop in trade service costs.
The department reported that the producer price index (PPI) for final demand decreased 0.1% in August, following a revised gain of 0.7% in July.
Analysts had anticipated a 0.3% increase, down from the initially reported 0.9% jump for the previous month, making the data a surprise to the market.
On an annual basis, producer price growth slowed to 2.6% in August, after a downward revision from 3.1% in July. Economists had expected the yearly increase to remain steady at 3.3%, based on prior reports.
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