US wholesale prices rose 0.7% in February, much more than expected and up 3.4% annually

Source: CNBC

“Wholesale prices rose sharply in February, providing another sign that inflation continues to percolate even aside from rising energy costs. The producer price index, a measure of pipeline costs that producers receive for their products, increased a seasonally adjusted 0.7% on the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday. Excluding volatile food and energy costs, the so-called core PPI increased 0.5%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for increases of 0.3% for both measures. For the all-items index, prices rose faster than the 0.5% pace in January. However, the core increase was less than the 0.8% for the prior month. On a 12-month basis, headline PPI inflation was at 3.4%, the most since February 2025, while core was at 3.9%, according to the BLS. The Federal Reserve targets inflation at 2%.” (03/18/26)

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/03/18/ppi-inflation-february-2026.html