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Wholesale prices rose 0.4% in August, as expected
Energy costs drove the biggest monthly gain in wholesale prices, while the annual increase reached 5.4%, the Labor Department said.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that wholesale inflation rose 5.4% in August from a year ago, accelerating from 4.7% in July as energy costs climbed.
Higher oil and gas prices stemming from the conflict in Iran are keeping costs elevated, reversing the cooling trend observed earlier this summer.
Excluding volatile food and energy categories, core wholesale prices rose 4.6% annually, up from 4.2% in July, while monthly prices increased 0.4% from the previous month.
Thursday's figures will influence whether the Federal Reserve raises interest rates next week, intensifying pressure on President Donald Trump to address affordability issues before November's midterms.
Amid these economic pressures, Trump announced Friday that his administration will allow temporary beef imports without higher tariffs, drawing opposition from cattle producers and conservative Republicans.
(New York = Yonhap News) Correspondent Kim Yeon-sook = The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on the 10th (local time) that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for August rose 5.4% from the previous month....