US wholesale inflation cooled off in October, reversing a three-month trend that had seen the cost of energy push up prices, according to data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Producer Price Index, which measures the average price changes that businesses pay to suppliers, fell 0.5% on a monthly basis. That’s a sharp decline from the 0.4% monthly jump seen in September, when food and energy prices raised the cost of goods.
PPI rose 1.3% for the 12 months ended in October, down from a 2.2% annual increase in September.
Economists expected PPI to inch up 0.1% from September and rise 1.9% on an annual basis, according to Refinitiv estimates.
When stripping out the volatile food and energy categories, core PPI was unchanged for the month, bringing the yearly increase to 2.4%.
PPI is a closely watched inflation gauge since it captures average price shifts before they reach consumers and serves as a potential signal for the prices that consumers ultimately end up paying.
This story is developing and will be updated.
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